US says 'Reaper' drone crashes into Black Sea after Russian intercept

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - A Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepted and struck the propeller of a U.S. military MQ-9 "Reaper" surveillance drone on Tuesday, causing it to crash into the Black Sea in an incident condemned as "unsafe" by the U.S. military.

Two Russian Su-27 jets carried out the intercept of the American spy drone, and one of them collided with it at 7:03 a.m. (0603 GMT). Several times before the collision, the Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the MQ-9 and flew in front of it in unsafe maneuvers, the U.S. military said in a statement.

"Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9," U.S. Air Force General James Hecker, who oversees the U.S. Air Force in the region, said in a statement.

The U.S. military said the incident followed a pattern of dangerous behavior by Russian pilots operating near aircraft flown by the U.S. and its allies, including over the Black Sea. The Black Sea lies between Europe and Asia and is bordered by Russia and Ukraine among other countries.

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