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Russian military telegram channels broadcast a video allegedly from the cockpit of a Russian Ce-27 fighter jet passing by an American MQ-9 Reaper drone. The footage was posted by the Fighterbomber Telegram channel.
The moment of the downing of the American drone is not on the video. It is also unclear whether this was the incident that led to the drone crash. Earlier, it was learned that a drone down in the Black Sea has been seen over neutral waters about 30 times since the beginning of March.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on March 14 in the Black Sea, on the territory of Crimea, the airspace control systems of the Aerospace Forces recorded the flight of the MQ-9 in the direction of the Russian border. Russian fighters were lifted into the air, but due to a sudden maneuver the drone took an uncontrolled flight, lost altitude and fell into the water. The wreckage of the drone was then brought to the surface.
US Air Force Europe Commander Hecker said the incident was caused by alleged “unsafe and unprofessional” maneuvers by Russian Su-27 crews. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder declined to answer when asked if the drone had weapons. .
