Tension in the Black Sea: an American drone was hit by a Russian plane and was destroyed

An “accident” involving a US-made Reaper drone and a Russian aircraft happened this Tuesday at Black Sea, indicated the AFP agency. Military sources in the North American country say that a fighter flying the Russian flag acted “recklessly” by shooting down the unmanned aircraft that was carrying out investigative manoeuvres.

“Something happened,” said one of the Western military sources consulted in principle, without being able to provide details on the nature of the incident. “We have no confirmation that the drone was shot down. There is an ongoing investigation,” she said.

But later, it was General James Hecker himself, commander of the US Air Force in Europe, who provided more details on what happened.

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraftresulting in a crash and the total loss of the MQ-9,” Hecker said in a statement.

The Black Sea has been an area closely monitored by NATO since the beginning of war in Ukraine and its sky is often the scene of interactions between drones and aircraft of the treaty countries and the Russian armed forces.

According to the statement, the US Air Force’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance service drone was intercepted by two Russian fightersas one of those planes caused the crash.

According to USEUCOM, on several occasions one of the Russian planes “dropped fuel” and flew in front of the drone. “irresponsibly, environmentally questionable and unprofessional”. As a result, the US was forced to shoot down its drone in the waters of the Black Sea, according to the statement.

The event took place around 07:03 in the morning local time. Russian aerial intercepts in the area are common, but this one “is notable for how unsafe and unprofessional it was, in fact it was rashUS National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

In the note, General Hecker assured that the planes of the United States and its allies “will continue to operate in international airspace, and we ask the Russians to behave in a safe and professional manner”.

The Reaper drone, manufactured by the American company General Atomics, is a medium-altitude, long-range, remotely piloted aircraft of the MALE type. The device is equipped with ultra-modern sensors to be able to carry out surveillance operations at a cruising speed of 335 km/h.

With a wingspan of 20 meters, it has a range of more than 24 hours of flight. It can also carry various types of weapons, such as laser or GPS-guided bombs or Hellfire missiles. The ground crew consists of four people.

In addition to the US, several European militaries have Reaper drones, including the UK, Italy, France and Spain.