Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Russian forces threatened to shoot down a French surveillance aircraft patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea, a signal of increasingly aggressive behavior from Moscow as its invasion of Ukraine struggles to make headway, French defense officials said Thursday. "A Russian air traffic control system threatened to shoot down French aircraft in the Black Sea when we were in a free international zone where we patrol," the French defense minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said on RTL radio. A French military spokesman, Col. Pierre Gaudillière, said Lecornu was referring to an incident in mid-November that involved one of France's four giant Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, surveillance aircraft that was flying over international waters in the Black Sea.

Former U.S. Amb. to NATO Kurt Volker says the Russian fighter jet collision was'intentional' and requires a'firm response' from the U.S. The United States has resumed its normal flights through international waters over the Black Sea following the crash of a drone due to Russian interference. U.S. officials said Friday that a RQ-4 Global Hawk flew through the region -- the first U.S. aircraft to do so since the skirmish, according to Reuters. An RQ-4 Global Hawk takes off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nichelle Anderson) Military officials assured the public that the Russian harassment of the US drone on Tuesday would not affect regular operations in the region. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin summarized the incident Wednesday in a press conference, saying, "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."

Russia has conferred state awards on the two fighter pilots involved in the downing of a US surveillance drone that crashed into the Black Sea, the Russian Defence Ministry said, while United States officials announced that its spy flights in the region have resumed. Presenting the awards on Friday to the Su-27 jet fighter pilots, Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu lauded their achievement in preventing the drone from flying into an area near Crimea to which Moscow has banned access. "The drone flew with its transponders off, violating the boundaries of the area of the temporary airspace usage regime established for the special military operation [and] communicated to all users of international airspace," Russia's defence ministry said in a statement, according to The Moscow Times. Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov said the awards for the pilots were "a clear sign that Russia will keep downing" US drones. "This decision will receive a strong support from the Russian society that wants the government to toughen its policy," Markov wrote in a commentary. Russia's presentation of the awards comes a day after the US military released a declassified 42-second video clip showing the Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepting the drone and making close passes while dumping fuel in an apparent bid to damage the drone's optical and other hi-tech instruments.

Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin has the latest on tensions amid the Russia-Ukraine war on'Special Report.' The Russians planned the Black Sea drone attack carefully, probably for weeks. And watch out, China could try it next. As the admiral played by the late Sen. Fred D. Thompson said to Alec Baldwin's character in the classic movie "The Hunt for Red October," "The Russians don't do anything without a plan." Somebody on the Russian side thought this through.

It is "highly unlikely" Russia will find anything useful if it manages to recover a U.S. surveillance drone from the deep waters of the Black Sea where it crashed earlier this week after colliding with a Russian fighter jet, the Pentagon said Thursday. Gen. Pat Ryder comes amid reports that Russia was making an effort to recover the MQ-9 Reaper drone's debris. Ryder reiterated Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley's assertion that no sensitive material was compromised in the drone incident. "We do have indications that Russia's likely making an effort to try to recovery MQ-9 debris," Ryder said. "However, we assess it's very unlikely that they would be able to recovery anything useful, given a couple of factors."

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.

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. 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.