The Pentagon on Thursday released footage of what it said was a Russian aircraft pouring fuel on a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone and clipping the drone's propeller in international airspace over the Black Sea. The 42-second video shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 drone and beginning to release fuel as it passes, the Pentagon said. Dumping the fuel appeared to be aimed at blinding its optical instruments and driving it out of the area. On a second approach, either the same jet or another Russian fighter that had been shadowing the MQ-9 struck the drone's propeller, damaging one blade, according to the U.S. military. The U.S. military said it ditched the MQ-9 Reaper in the sea after what it described as the Russian fighter making an unsafe intercept of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

U.S. European Command on Thursday released video of a Russian Su-27 fighter jet colliding with a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, March 14. Russian vessels have already arrived at the drone crash site in the Black Sea, a U.S. defense official tells Fox News. Almost immediately after the MQ-9 drone was clipped by a Su-27 fighter jet and downed into the water, Russia sent ships to search the debris field. "They wasted no time," the defense official told Fox News. U.S. European Command on Thursday released video of a Russian Su-27 fighter jet colliding with a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, March 14.

Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin has the latest on tensions amid the Russia-Ukraine war on'Special Report.' EXCLUSIVE: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called Russia's interception of a U.S. drone a "blatant intimidation tactic," and stressed the need for the United States to continue its support for Ukraine and security efforts in the region. A Russian Su-27 fighter plane collided with a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, which was conducting "routine operations" over the Black Sea on Tuesday. The jet in question was one of two Su-27's flying in tandem when the collision occurred in international airspace over international waters. "To be clear, the Black Sea is not a Russian lake. The U.S. surveillance drone intercepted by a Russian aircraft was operating in international airspace," McCaul told Fox News Digital.

The United States military has released footage it says is of an unsafe intercept of a US drone by a Russian jet over the Black Sea. The US on Tuesday alleged that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with one of its Reaper surveillance drones in international airspace, forcing it to crash into the sea. Russia denied it deliberately brought the unmanned aerial vehicle down. VIDEO: Two #Russian Su-27s conducted an unsafe & unprofessional intercept w/a @usairforce intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 operating w/i international airspace over the #BlackSea March 14. https://t.co/gMbKYNtIeQ The declassified 42-second footage released by the US European Command shows the Su-27 fighter jet approaching the back of the MQ-9 drone, the Pentagon said.

U.S. European Command on Thursday released video of a Russian Su-27 fighter jet colliding with a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, March 14. U.S. officials have released video that shows a Russian Su-27 fighter jet colliding with the propeller of a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone. The video release by the U.S. military's European Command on Thursday came amid a race to secure the downed American aircraft. Russian ships are at the MQ-9 drone crash site in the Black Sea, a U.S. defense official told Fox News Thursday. Russia sent ships to search the debris field almost immediately following the crash.

Intensified spying by American drones near Ukraine could lead to an escalation and Russia will respond proportionally to future intelligence-gathering operations, Moscow's defence chief has told his US counterpart. The comments came in a phone conversation on Wednesday between Sergei Shoigu and Pentagon boss Lloyd Austin after the United States accused a Russian Su-27 fighter jet of colliding with one of its Reaper surveillance drones, forcing it to crash into the Black Sea. Russia denied it deliberately brought the unmanned aerial vehicle down. "It was noted that flights by American strategic lethal drones by the Crimea coastline were provocative in nature and created pre-conditions for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone," a defence ministry statement quoted Shoigu as saying. "[Russia] has no interest in such a development, but it will continue to respond proportionately to all provocations."

Recovery of a US surveillance drone that crashed after being intercepted by Russian fighter jets would be challenging given the deep waters in the Black Sea, a senior United States general said, as reports emerged of Russian vessels at the crash site. Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said remains of the uncrewed MQ-9 Reaper drone, which the US claims was brought down by one of two Russian Su-27 jets clipping the drone's propeller, sank in waters as deep as 1,219 to 1,524 meters (4,000 to 5,000 feet). "It probably sank to some significant depths, so any recovery operation from a technical standpoint would be very difficult," Milley told reporters on Wednesday. Milley added it would take several days before the US would know for certain the size of the debris field. Moscow – which denies that its jets were in physical contact with the drone – said it would try to retrieve the drone wreckage as reports emerged on Thursday of US officials confirming that Russian ships had reached the crash site.

WASHINGTON/KYIV – Washington's top general has said the crash of a U.S. surveillance drone after being intercepted by Russian jets showed Moscow's increasingly aggressive behavior while Russia warned Washington that flying drones near Crimea risked escalation. A day after the U.S. drone went down over the Black Sea, defense ministers and military chiefs from the U.S. and Russia held rare telephone conversations on Wednesday with relations at their lowest point in decades over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, that American drone flights by Crimea's coast "were provocative in nature" and could lead to "an escalation … in the Black Sea zone," a ministry statement said. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during a briefing on Wednesday that the collision of a Russian jet with a U.S. drone follows a "pattern" of unsafe and risky behavior from Russia. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said during a briefing on Wednesday that America doesn't seek "armed conflict" with Russia after the collision of a Russian jet and a U.S. drone On Tuesday, a Russian Su-27 fighter plane collided with a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone while traveling over the Black Sea, a U.S. defense official told Fox News. The collision occurred in international airspace while over international waters, with the jet in question being one of two Su-27s flying in tandem. The drone's propeller was damaged, forcing it to be ditched in the Black Sea west of Crimea, the defense official said. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin described the incident as a continuation of risky behavior from Russia during Tuesday's press briefing.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday said the U.S. will not stop flights in international airspace after a Russian fighter jet clipped a U.S. drone propeller, causing a crash into the Black Sea. The U.S. said on Tuesday two Russian SU-27 warplanes harassed and struck down an unmanned U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over international waters, forcing it to crash into the Black Sea in what could be described as "coercive signaling." If a Russia warplane is found to have purposefully downed the sophisticated $32 million intelligence collecting drone, it will be the first time the U.S. and Russia have directly exchanged blows since the war in Ukraine began. Though Moscow has denied downing the drone and claimed it crashed on its own, one report by the RAND Corporation released last year suggests this could align with Russia's known use of coercive tactics. An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft is parked in a hanger at Creech Air Force Base on Nov. 17, 2015 in Indian Springs, Nevada.