The Pentagon provided journalists with a video of an attack by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet on an MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone. The footage shows the plane dumping fuel on the drone, after which the Reaper begins to experience communication problems.
- On March 14, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepted and shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone over the Black Sea. At approximately 07:03, one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft engaged the MQ-9ʼs propeller and it crashed in international waters. Several times before the collision, the two Russian Su-27s jettisoned fuel and flew in front of the MQ-9. In the US, it was called a "reckless, environmentally dangerous and unprofessional manner."
- The Russian Ministry of Defense denied everything and said that the drone crashed due to "sharp maneuvering".
- CNN reported that secret software was remotely removed from the Reaper before it crashed.
- According to the American military, the drone lies at a depth of more than a kilometer. Itʼs very hard to get, and the US probably wonʼt do it. Moscow announced that they would try to retrieve the wreckage of the drone. ABC News writes that Russian ships have already been spotted in the area where the Reaper crashed.