Russian Jet

US releases footage of Russian jet downing drone over Black Sea

The downing of the US MQ-9 drone on Tuesday was the first direct US-Russian incident since the Ukraine war began, worsening already tense relations between Washington and Moscow as both countries publicly traded blame.

In the video, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet can be seen coming very close to the drone and dumping fuel near it, in what US officials said was an apparent effort to damage the American aircraft as it flew.

US drone crashes after encounter with Russian jet

It says the drone was on a routine mission in international airspace when two Russian jets tried to intercept it.

The US European Command said Tuesday's crash was the result of an "unprofessional act by the Russians".

Russia said the drone crashed after a "sharp manoeuvre", and denied that the two aircraft made direct contact.

The Russian defence ministry also said the MQ-9 Reaper drone was flying with its transponders turned off. Transponders are communications devices that allow the aircraft to be tracked.