The United States military’s European Command released footage of a Russian Su-27 fighter plane harassing an American Air Force MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
The video shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the rear of the MQ-9 and dumping fuel over it as it passes, disrupting the MQ-9’s video transmission.
The video shows the Russian Su-27 making a second approach toward the drone, again dumping fuel on it.
Then the video shows a Russian Su-27 colliding with the drone and the drone’s camera feed being lost for about 60 seconds. Afterward, the camera feed returns, showing the drone’s propellers damaged by the impact.
The harassing flight happened on Tuesday, according to Eucom, around 7:03 a.m. CET.
The Pentagon maintains that the U.S. military brought down the drone in international waters.
Eucom blasted the behavior as “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional.”
