U.S. and Russian officials had conflicting accounts of the collision between the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the Russian Su-27 fighter jet — each blaming the other.
But a Pentagon spokesman raised the possibility that the Defense Department could eventually declassify and release video it has of the collision.
Air Force Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Africa, said that the Russian jet’s actions “nearly caused both aircraft to crash.” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the collision likely also damaged the Russian fighter jet, but the Su-27 was able to land. He would not say where it landed.
It's not clear if the collision was an accident or intentional, but both sides agree the Russian aircraft were trying to intercept the drone.The Russian Defense Ministry said the U.S. drone was flying near the Russian border and intruded in an area that was declared off limits by Russian authorities. It said that the Russian military scrambled fighters to intercept the U.S. drone. It claimed that “as a result of sharp maneuver, the U.S.
Nations routinely operate in international airspace and waters, and no country can claim limits on territory outside of its own border.
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