Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted and forced down an American drone on Tuesday, causing the aircraft to crash into the Black Sea.

U.S. officials said that one of the two Russian aircraft collided with the uncrewed aircraft’s propeller after both jets dumped fuel on it.

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” said General James B. Hecker, a senior official.

“In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”

This event signifies the first instance of direct engagement between Russian and US military aircraft since Russia commenced its invasion of Ukraine just over a year ago. It is probable that this occurrence will exacerbate tensions between the two nations, with the US Air Force characterising Russia’s actions as “unprofessional, environmentally unsound, and reckless.”

The United States has been deploying Reaper drones over the Black Sea for surveillance purposes for quite some time, dating back to before the war started. Capable of reaching altitudes of up to 50,000 feet, the Reaper drones possess sophisticated sensors and intelligence-gathering capabilities, making them well-suited for extended periods of reconnaissance.

As such, they are an ideal platform for tracking military movements on the battlefield and in the Black Sea.

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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119 COMMENTS

  1. I wonder if there really was a collision, or if this is a de-escalation narrative. If so, maybe it would make sense for the yanks to use crewed aircraft only for surveillance around Ukraine, to prevent the temptation for the Russians to attack them

    • How is it a “de-escalation narrative” ? I read it as the Russians DELIBERATELY rammed it after they failed to bring it down by dumping fuel on it.

    • It seems possible, that to avoid a direct provocation with an actual attack by missile or gun on the Reaper, the Su-27 may have flown in front of it, dumped a load of fuel over it, which then ignited on the Reaper’s hot exhaust. Clearly, just like the previous Black Sea missile launch, to be claimed as an ‘accident’.

      I’m not sure how anyone, other than the two Su-27 pilots, know exactly what happened as from memory, fallible, the Reaper doesn’t have all round, above and below cameras.. The US has not claimed to have a piloted aircraft nearby.

      No doubt the Russian Navy will now volunteer to rectify their ‘error’ and offer to recover the Reaper and return it to the USAF, in crates as per precedent.

      • More likely tried to go close and fast to use its jet wash and crashed into it by accident, as between 60-70 flying hours per year doesnt make Pavlov a combat pilot, it allows him to take off, fly in a straight line (using a GPS bought from go outdoors) and land. Probably also not paying attention as trying to push his issued rape kit back under the ejector seat.

      • Turns out you’ve still got your 100% record for being wrong Johnski. There are other cameras on drones and the incident was as described by the Septics and the Russians were lying again. The stupid Russian pilot crashed into the reaper while trying to fuel dump on it. What a bunch of incompetents the Russian armed forces have turned out to be.

    • Yep, I see your point.
      It would make sense for the US to play down the issue ‘IF’ the Russians had actually fired at the drone.
      But would the Russians be that dumb?
      And how long before a ”whistle blower” tells the truth?

      • Certainly but worth noting the impact of the Bayraktars in Ukraine didn’t last long once they started getting shot down. There are a number of higher performing CUAVs in development but with that performance comes a price tag that limits numbers which is the drones main benefit.

      • Obviously not in this case, but as I thought and thus as a result just checked, Reapers have been tested with Air to Air missiles (Sidewinders) certainly since 2020, when they successfully engaged a representative Cruise missile.

    • It’s certainly a potentially dangerous escalation of events…

      My question would be a couple of rouge pilots egging each over on,or acting under specific instructions?

      Either way is bloody worrying.

  4. That will infuriate Big Safari nearly as much as when Clinton’s White House refused to launch missiles when MQ-1 had sites on Bin Laden pre USS Cole and pre 9/11. After that it was armed.

  5. Utter morons!

    You dump fuel – very flammable fuel – onto a drone and then ram it. How damned stupid can Russian forces get?!

    Even ignoring the geopolitical ramifications, this could have very easily caused a spark, ignited the drone and sent the pilot to a fiery end. An utter shower of incompetent orcs!

    Stupid, drunk or both? Taking all bets!

      • I’m for sure not agreeing with their actions, but if you see it from their perspective, the US and western allies have been doing effectively the same for a year by providing intel and equipment that has directly resulted in Russian losses and Russia haven’t been able to do anything about it. War is war and realistically there no question NATO is currently at war with Russia, even if no shots have been fired.

        The worry is that we might slowly slip into a a scenario were shots are fired.

  7. This is going to become very interesting as Moscow (Similar to how a former US president stated: I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman’) is claiming that : “its aircraft did not use on-board weapons or come into contact with the drone.”
    Be interesting to see the reply when (like when those knickers turned up) the US releases that Video. 

    • It was like when the Russian missile was not fired in the neighbourhood of a RAF rivet joint…it accidentally fell off…

    • and since the Reaper does have a flight tracker and avoidance radar. installed remember that one that nearly got whacked out in the desert, recorded the knob jockey trying to bounce it.

  8. As we increase the number of drones and other remote systems the greater the likelihood of losses such as these. There is a distinction between a manned aircraft and one that is not, which can have a significant impact on how we react. U2s have been shot down without hostilities breaking out and the same will apply here. We should expect many more downings or sinking of remote systems on both sides going forward.

        • I don’t really think the Russians or Chinese for that matter will care. The US shooting down the weather balloon was a prelude to the legitimacy of destroying remote vehicles in or around what is described as sensitive areas international or otherwise. The only practical way forward is to equip remotes with countermeasures, which will hold back the current turkey shoot situation. The one possible drawback (or benefit) of using remote systems is the increased risk of regular interdiction and destruction on both sides without actually declaring hostilities.

    • Yes, but anticipate that the situation will become significantly more sporting once the first River Joint is brought down over international airspace, w/ the loss of the crew. Not certain how US leadership will react.

        • Yes, thanks, do seem to vaguely recall reading about that months ago, perhaps before outbreak of hostilities. Hope USAF has adopted the same SOP. Will attempt to research and report.

          • The escorting started after the Russians ‘accidentally dropped’ an AAM near a RAF RC-135W over the Black Sea last year.

          • US RC-135 don’t seem to be running the same missions as UK RC-135. US ones tend to stay over eastern europe, the Uk ones are running the Black Sea flights..

      • Yes, but they are manned aircraft (apart from U2s, which appear to be fair game) and there lies the distinction I mentioned above. The moment a manned aircraft is deliberately shot down the war risk is quickly heightened, due to signal or multiple fatalities. The latter would most certainly create an immediate crisis. The loss of a remote system does not generate the same emotions other than anger. In many ways, interception and destruction of remotes reduce the risks of direct conflict and could mutually work strategically for both sides.

        • 🤞, not certain re degree of professionalism of Russian pilots. Initial USAF account stated loss due to an apparent unforced error in a Russian flight maneuver. Would truly be a tragedy if conflict erupted as a result of carelessness/ineptitude on the part of Orc aircrews. 😳

        • You are missing the point. Both the Reaper and Rivets are in international airspace. They are breaking no laws and Russia cannot (legally) interfere with either.
          The U2s were overflying Soviet airspace and were thus legitimate targets.

          • I’m not missing any point, Bob. As I said above the Russians don’t differentiate between international or national airspace and they are becoming angry due to their horrendous losses in Ukraine. The drone was probably a reckless mistake but I’m sure more will follow as these flights are seen as provocative even in international waters. However, when it comes to manned aircraft such as Rivets the situation would quickly deteriorate if one of these was lost due to a hostile attack. There are no emotions when remotes are lost just disappointment and anger.

  9. I assume the US have footage of the incident. Sure this is going to up the stakes for Nato aircraft operating in the area. But the Russians are getting some form for this now after the missile release last October near the British Plane flying over the Black Sea. Obviously pushing the envelope and seems to me they want a reaction from the West.

          • So the fuel dump would have happened in front of the drone and the camera can slew 180 degrees so could have caught the prop strike. The fact the US is saying the prop was struck infers they saw this.

          • From the BBC news feed world-europe-64958547 on the subject, we await with interest,

            “21:48 14 Mar
            Officials working to declassify footage of crashUS Department of Defense spokesperson Brig Gen Pat Ryder has said that officials are working to declassify footage from the incident.
            It is unclear if it was captured by still images or video, or how the footage was captured.
            If released, however, it will likely offer more details about what occurred.”

          • Well obviously as the drone was flying straight and level the Orcs had to undertake hazardous manoeuvres to avoid it🙄

  11. I wonder who will be paying for the replacement. And possibly a good time to announce F-16s for Ukraine?

    “ZURICH, March 17 (Reuters) –

    Switzerland’s secretive banks hold up to $213 billion of Russian wealth, the country’s financial industry association estimates, as sanctions on Russia give a rare glimpse inside Swiss vaults.

    The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) estimated that the banks hold between 150 billion and 200 billion Swiss francs ($213 billion) of Russian client money in offshore accounts.

    This indicates that the extent of wealthy Russians’ business with banks in Switzerland, the world’s biggest centre for offshore wealth, is far more extensive than the on-balance sheet exposures several of its financial firms have begun to detail.”

    https://www.defensenews.com/resizer/6lZyZVhnYJo0JXdlHtL_VpjqL1U=/1024×0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/VJIKON7WQNEXNDIVK6YGFTI2N4.jpg

      • What’s Known About Putin’s Wealth After the Panama Papers?
        “The leak is not the first time the Russian president has been forced to answer questions about his vast fortune, which estimates have placed as high as $40 billion. Putin’s critics have alleged that much of that wealth is hidden through proxies, but determining how much is a matter of speculation.”

        LINK

        • Nigel, I’ve seen some reports that estimate his fortune at $200bn. whilst I belive that might be unsubtsantiated I expect he is near the top of the rich list.

          • Gifted to Ukraine, that would be justice served in part.
            Loss of life cannot be replaced.

            I wonder how long he would last in power if a timeline was set for the same thing to happen to the Russian oligarch’s offshore accounts including properties and yachts.

    • Believe UKR has already stated publicly that they will be seeking compensation/restitution from seized Russian funds. May become the full employment act for attorneys on multiple continents in terms of litigating this issue. Hard to believe Mad Vlad did not secure his poker chips before embarking on this misadventure. It isn’t as though he wasn’t warned repeatedly and publicly about the consequences. Conclusion:. we may be dealing w/ a legitimate moron.

    • This could be the catalyst for F16s it would tie up Russian aircraft and if Russia is going regularly harrass surveillance assest the F16s will know where to find a couple of targets.

      • An indirect way of making Russia pay for downing the MQ-9 Reaper.

        RAF and German fighter jets have intercepted a Russian aircraft near Estonian airspace in the first joint operation of its kind.

        “The two Typhoons were scrambled on Tuesday to intercept an Il-78 Midas refuelling plane flying between St Petersburg and Kaliningrad.

        The plane had failed to communicate with air traffic control in Estonia.

        The British and German air forces are currently conducting planned joint Nato air policing in the region.

        The interception itself was routine, but it is the first time such an operation has been carried out together by the two countries.”

        LINK

  12. It’s a win for Russia. A fuel dump attack rather than an air to air missile would there be a different response? Still there’s a good place for drones, I’m wondering whether the drone operator can give verbal warning to russian pilot maybe with light air to air missile attached if this becomes a regular event.

    • Would it be possible for the UAV pilots to communicate? If not, why not? There should be a proximity transmitter with a recorded message if the UAV’s pilot is unable to communicate. Newer Chinese UAVs can communicate, apparently.

  13. This is worrying stuff, knocking a NATO drone out the air is coming closer to a line NATO would need to react to in some way. Putin is really capable of pushing over a NATO red line..because he thinks NATO has no political will if there is any possible deniability after all this is the man who authorised the use of chemical weapons agains people living in the UK. In reality he crossed a load of red lines years ago and got away with it using deny deny deny…

  14. Speaking of UAVs. The Royal Navy has progressed the STM Stork to the next stage. Even though we have seen airships for surveillance, I can’t tell if this is a joke or an effective delivery system. (Link). I can see this being effective for remote communities that need access to medicine, food, parcels, etc. But for warfare operations? Also, has the image function been removed?

    • It claims it can hit both the Intra- and Inter-theatre goals on the page you linked to, but that’s not how I read it. It can reach the entry level for consideration on both, but not the MVP for either. It can’t carry the minimum viable payload for MITL, 200kg, and it can’t hit the minimum viable distance of 300nM for Inter-theatre.

      It seems to sit in between and will need a little tweaking to find itself a role in the Navy. It came from the Army’s last-mile programme, and they clearly have something. I’m just not sure what.

  15. Shoot down an equivalent russian drone in retaliation, the only thing the Russians understand is aggression. Putin couldn’t care less about sanctions. They don’t effect him, they effect the people. At the moment it’s a drone, what will it be next…

    • This could be a sign of desperation of course where things are going so badly that hitting out and provoking at anything available becomes a ‘plan’. Yeah let’s see if they do it again.

      • Yes, I think you have hit the nail on the head. It’s a sign of panic. If the drone was in the Black Sea it was likely looking at Russian defensive lines which Ukraine would have to breach in any drive south to Crimea or Melitopol.

  16. Just take the moral high ground and send up another.

    Once can be called an accident.
    “Mr Putin, are you saying your pilot accidentally flew into our drone – twice?”

  17. I doubt two Russian pilots woke up this morning and thought I know lets go dump fuel on a USA surveillance drone. Maybe do some recklessly close maneuvering for kicks. Putin won’t mind!

  18. Just Proves Russian’s don’t like anything that can defend itself. like to sneak up from behind and poke it. and then run away and Hide.

  19. Is there any talk of recovering this drone? Would that be possible from where it crashed? Has the drone disintegrated, do we know?
    Talking of drones, it would be good to get some AAW drones over the Black Sea to sniff out some subs.

    • It appears to have gone down 40 miles or so off the Crimean coast in fairly shallow water. If it is still in the water its probable only a mater of time before it is recovered by the Russian Navy. There are no known USN assets in the Black Sea.

      • Russian navy would have to come out of hiding from the Eastern Black Sea to get it! So nope johnskie, your Russian mates will not be getting it.

  20. Ok here’s the real story, no more speculation, taken from pilot recorded transcript (on tape recorder attached to leg):

    Pilot 1 “comrade we have orders to shoot down imperialist drone”
    Pilot 2 “………hold on….busy…..that’s it, got it straight and level, now wheres this radio button”
    Pilot 1 “comrade as you ok?”
    Pilot 2 “da comrade, just using this new radio thingskie we have been given”
    Pilot 1 “ok comrade, you try to shoot it first, you are more experience having flown 22 hours this year”
    Piot 2 ” ok, going in for a gun run…..ah da gunskie doesn’t workskie you have a go”
    Pilot 1 ” ok running in now, aiming aiming….ah shit, I wasnt loaded with ammo, the boss swapped it for a new Mercedes from imperialist germany”
    Pilot 2 ” ok going for missile shot……firing now……shitskie, it fell off, you have a go”
    Pilot 1 “ah missiles I knew you would ask, you know that new washing machine I’ve got, the one that wasnt stolen from Ukraine…..”
    Pilot 2 “shitskie, well we are going to have to do something or we will be posted to the low flying tank turret display team”
    Pilot 1 ” hold on I’m thinking, hmmmmm whats this button do?”
    Pilot 2 ” fucksie me, well done comrade, good idea, dumping all your fuel on it, but a bit sad as was going to sell that for some new pairs of jeans”
    Pilot 1 ” never mind we have done well, we will get Russian hero awards, a new Ukrainian TV and we both have fulfilled our annual flight hours of double figures, hoorayskie”

    Transcript recorded by US ISTAR asset apparantly.

  21. This is just another ‘poke’ at the west, expecting no form of retaliation, and looking to see how far they can push. I expect the Chinese are watching events unfold, and when the west does… nothing as usual, maybe they will start making a ‘play’ for Taiwan.

    Then things start getting messy, shifting some of the focus away from Ukraine. Interesting times…

  22. Hard times for Russia. Ammunition stockpiles are so low that they resort to ramming aircraft to take them down 😎
    On a more serious note, seems no one was hurt. The advantage of drones is that no family is going to miss them, and we avoid escalating to DEFCON 1. Seen similar incidents before like the GlobalHawk shot down after “getting too close” to Iranian airspace.
    Just sounds like a bizarre way and to take down a drone, a salvo of 30mm would be a lot safer and efficient. Very hard to prove since MQ9’s camera are designed for ground targeting rather than aerial situational awareness.
    So far this story makes little sense since planes are not designed to play bumper cars. Hopefully more details will come out.

    • Maybe if it had of self-exploded that might have taken down 1-2 of the Russian jets if they came too close!

      • A bit like us flipping V-1s over Kent. Given the US say that the prop was hit and its location, it would have been a pretty skilled and hazardous move to have hit it with the Su-27 wing. Even worse to have used the nose as that ran a real risk of engine damage. There is more about this than meets the eye.

        • As a “pretty skilled” move as you state then it’s confirmation that it wasn’t deliberate, as the flying Nazis don’t have the skill, ability and experience to do it purposefully. Take off and landing is tough for them but most manage it occasionally!

  24. Why can I see & hear Wesley Snipes in Expendables III . . “Sniff, Sniff, Amateur !” Should put an Aim-9X on next time and let pricks know about it.

  25. The West has been flying around, or into Russian/Soviet airspace since the 50s, and has lost many aircraft, so there is a precedent for this, and for me puts this into perspective.
    Won’t stop the same missions carrying on tomorrow and there is nothing Russia can do about that.

    • Since the end of WW2; there was talk
      of Americans in the KGB prison when perestroika happened and apparently Bush and Yeltsin discussed their release.

      As to the drone, put a self destruction device in it – and detonate it when the Russians play games like this.

  26. The next time the russians try that amazing how a hellfire missile could hit them ,put a clear warning to Mr russki putin,

  27. Just watch the MQ9’s video on BBC, the RWR would have alerted the folks on the ground and they easy got sight of this Russian clown.

    What interests me most is the missiles it’s carrying . . aged AA-10 & AA-8 (I wont dignify Russia with their own designations). One does wonder if there are that many modern missiles in stock, which in and itself is representative of the poor kit Russia has fielded on sea, land and air. AA-10s . . seriously are we still using Aim-7 or SkyFlash (I did love SkyFlash 🙂

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