US drone hit by Russian pilot ‘sank to an unrecoverable depth’

The US Air Force’s MQ-9 drone that was hit by a Russian aircraft over the Black Sea last week will not be recovered, according to a spokesperson for US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa. Two Russian pilots approached the drone recklessly close, dumping fuel on it, and ultimately one of them flew into the propeller of the unmanned aircraft. The US military had to crash it into the Black Sea, and it likely sank to an unrecoverable depth, about 75 miles southwest of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Sensitive data from the MQ-9 was wiped before the crash to prevent anyone from obtaining intelligence of value if they recovered the aircraft. Russia has expressed its interest in recovering the $32 million aircraft.

The Russian Ministry of Defense initially denied crashing into the MQ-9, but US European Command has released footage showing a Russian Su-27 approaching the rear of the drone and releasing fuel before cutting out for 60 seconds. Once resumed, the propeller was seen to be damaged. This behavior from Russian pilots is becoming more common, as evidenced by a Su-35 being scrambled to respond to two B-52s during a long-range Bomber Task Force mission with NATO allies and partners in Estonian airspace. The US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa has confirmed that the B-52s were at least 50 nautical miles from Russian airspace, contrary to the Russian Ministry of Defense’s claims.