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. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday 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. "I know that everyone here has heard that Russian aircraft again engaged in dangerous, reckless and unprofessional practices on Tuesday in international airspace over the Black Sea," Austin said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks before a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on March 15, 2023, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Austin quickly summarized the incident, explaining, "Two Russian jets dumped fuel on an unmanned U.S. MQ-9 aircraft conducting routine operations in international airspace. And one Russian jet intercepted and hit our MQ-9 aircraft, resulting in a crash."

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. A race between the U.S. and Russia is underway to secure the debris of the drone that crashed into the Black Sea. Russian officials announced Wednesday that operations were underway to collect the debris of the downed U.S. drone -- the country has denied responsibility for the incident. An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) flies by during a training mission at Creech Air Force Base on Nov. 17, 2015, in Indian Springs, Nevada. U.S. officials say a Russian fighter jet clipped the U.S. drone's propeller while traveling in international airspace, causing the crash.

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds told Fox News' Jennifer Griffin Tuesday at a Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute summit that he is angered by Russian fighter jet colliding with a U.S. drone over international waters. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds described himself as "p---ed off" following the reported collision of a Russian fighter jet with a U.S. military drone. U.S. military command alleged Tuesday that a Russian fighter jet dumped fuel on a U.S. drone over the Black Sea, clipped the drone's propeller and forced it into the water. Asked by Fox News' Jennifer Griffin for his feelings on the matter, Rounds. R-S.D., said he was "p---ed off."

Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin has the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war on'Special Report.' Tensions remain between Russia and the United States after a collision in international airspace. U.S. military command officials said Tuesday that a Russian fighter jet dumped fuel on a U.S. drone over the Black Sea, clipped the drone's propeller and forced it into the water. An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft is parked in a hanger at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada. Russia is now denying that the aircraft touched one another, and accusing the U.S. of unnecessarily escalating the issue.

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. The U.K. and Germany scrambled fighter jets to intercept two Russian aircraft flying near Estonia late Tuesday. The Russian aircraft, a Russian Il-78 Midas refueling plane and an Antonov 148 military transport, approached NATO airspace without contacting Estonian authorities. The incident was the first time the U.K. and Germany have conducted a joint air intercept as part of the NATO treaty.

Washington's claim that a Russian fighter jet collided with a US surveillance drone near Crimea causing it to crash is both a rare military incident between the two superpowers and a serious escalation in already tense relations since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. US and Russian officials have given conflicting accounts of what occurred on Tuesday over the Black Sea between the MQ-9 Reaper drone, valued at more than $30m and packed with sensitive US spying technology, and two Russian Su-27 fighter jets that were deployed to intercept the US aircraft. The Pentagon said two Russian Su-27 aircraft intercepted the drone and proceeded to dump fuel on the MQ-9 Reaper model as it conducted routine surveillance over the Black Sea in international airspace. US officials said the Russian jets flew around and in front of the drone several times for 30 to 40 minutes, and then one of the Su-27 fighters "struck the propeller" of the drone, "causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters". A Pentagon spokesman said the collision likely damaged the Russian fighter jet, though the Su-27 did land.

The U.S. military said a Russian fighter plane clipped the propeller of one its spy drones and made it crash into the Black Sea on Tuesday in the first such direct encounter between the two world powers since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago. The Russian Defense Ministry offered a different account, and Moscow's ambassador to Washington said his country "views this incident as a provocation" involving a U.S. MQ-9 drone and Russian Su-27 fighter jet. The United States, which has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, has not become directly engaged in the war but it does conduct regular surveillance flights in the region. 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.

"If the message is that they want to deter or dissuade us from flying or operating in international airspace over the Black Sea," Mr Kirby told broadcaster VOA, "then that message will fail because that is not going to happen".

A Russian fighter jet has hit a US military drone over international waters, crashing the drone. The MQ-9 Reaper drone and two SU-27 craft were all flying above the Black Sea, and according to the US military's European Command, the Russian planes dumped fuel on the drone and flew in front of it dangerously, and eventually one of them hit the drone's propeller, forcing the US to bring down the drone. "This unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash," said US Air Force commander James B. Hecker in a press release. He also stated that the drone was "conducting routine operations" and that this incident will not stop US aircraft from operating in international airspace. Drones like this one have been operating over the Black Sea since well before the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war to monitor the situation in Ukraine.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst discusses massive missile attacks launched by Russia as the battle for city of Bakhmut rages on. A Russian Su-27 jet collided with a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea Tuesday, a U.S. defense official told Fox News. It was one of two Su-27's flying. This happened in international airspace over international waters. The propeller to the drone was damaged and the drone landed in the Black Sea, west of Crimea, the U.S. defense official says.