Pentagon releases video on US drone and Russian fighter jet clash

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US drone and Russian fighter jet clash

New Delhi The Russian fighter jet Su-27 has shot down the American (USA) MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, due to which international tension has increased. After the sky clashes, now they are face to face with the debris of the drone lying inside the Black Sea i.e. in its foothills. The Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Ministry of Defense, has released a video of a Russian fighter jet coming unsafely into the path of a US Air Force surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea.

In this 42-second video on Thursday, the Pentagon said that in the video, a Russian Su-27 is coming from behind the US MQ-9 drone and starts releasing fuel when it passes. The US military said it shot down an MQ-9 Reaper into the sea on Tuesday after Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle that prevented its optical (surveillance) instruments from seeing it and forced it out of the area. There was a clear attempt to disrupt its propeller.

The released portion of the video does not show the events before or after the confrontation over the alleged fuel spill. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Miley have spoken to their Russian counterparts about the destruction of the US drone following a shootout with Russian fighter jets. The first call since October was held on Wednesday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov.

US drone and Russian fighter jet clash

Attempts by planes to approach each other dangerously are not unusual, but the incident, which occurred in the midst of the war in Ukraine, has raised concerns that such cases could bring the US and Russia closer to direct conflict. After this incident, this conversation between the defense and military leadership of both countries underlines the seriousness of this matter.

The Russian fighter jet damaged a fan behind the drone.
The Russian Defense Ministry, in its report on the phone conversation with Austin, said that Shoigu accused the US of provoking the incident by ignoring flight restrictions imposed by the Kremlin because of its (Russia’s) military operations in Ukraine. Russia was also accused of ‘increasing intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation’.

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