Russian fighter jet hits American drone over Black Sea, says US Military

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The United States military said a Russian fighter jet on Tuesday struck the propeller of a US drone over the Black Sea, causing US forces to bring it down in international waters.

The US European Command said in a statement that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets "conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept" of a U.S. MQ-9 drone that was operating within international airspace over the Black Sea.

It said one of the Russian fighters "struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters," adding that several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in "a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner."

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"This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional," it added.

The incident comes amid soaring Russian-US tensions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

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