Russian Warplane Hits American Drone Over Black Sea, U.S. Says
The incident was the first known physical contact between the two militaries since the war in Ukraine began last year.
WASHINGTON — A Russian warplane struck a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, hitting the drone’s propeller and causing its American operators to bring it down in international waters, according to the Pentagon, in the first known physical contact between the Russian and American militaries since the war in Ukraine started last February.
The downing of the MQ-9 Reaper, a workhorse of the American military’s airborne reconnaissance fleet, immediately escalated tensions between the White House and the Kremlin as U.S. officials accused the Russian forces involved in the incident of behaving dangerously.
American military officials said the unarmed Reaper ...