off-the-wire

US says 'Reaper' drone crashes into Black Sea after Russian intercept

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - A Russian Su-27 fighter jet struck the propeller of a U.S. military "Reaper" surveillance drone on Tuesday, causing it to crash into the Black Sea in an incident condemned as "reckless' by the U.S. military.

"Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9," U.S. Air Force General James Hecker, who overseas the U.S. Air Force in the region, said in a statement.

Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali Editing by Chris Reese
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