A Russian Su-27 fighter collides with an American Reaper drone over the Black Sea

A Russian Su-27 fighter collides with a US Reaper drone over the Black Sea, an area heavily guarded by NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine, the US military reported.

“Our MQ-9 drone was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and struck by a Russian aircraft, resulting in the crash and loss of the MQ-9,” said General James Hecker, commander of US forces in Europe and Africa.

A White House spokesman denounced a “reckless act” after a Russian jet struck a US Reaper drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.

John Kirby, spokesman for the US Executive’s National Security Council, noted that there had already been interceptions of US drones by Russian planes, but added that this incident was “reckless” and “unique”, among other things because it led to the loss of the Reaper. .

This type of drone can carry weapons

The Reaper drone, manufactured by the American company General Atomics, is a remotely piloted MALE (medium altitude long endurance) aircraft, equipped with ultra-modern sensors on board (optronic ball and radar) to perform surveillance operations at a cruising speed of 335 km/h.

With a wingspan of 20 meters, it has a range of more than 24 hours of flight. It can carry various types of weapons: laser and/or GPS guided bombs (GBU) or Hellfire missiles. Its ground crew is made up of four people.

In addition to the United States, several European militaries have Reaper UAVs in their fleets, including the British, Italian, French and Spanish.

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