Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin after incident with the American MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle over the Black Sea called on Russian military pilots to fly «safely and professionally», and also assured that the US military would continue to operate wherever international law allows.
«Don't err. The US will continue to fly and operate wherever international law allows. Russia must use its warplanes in a safe and professional manner,» the Pentagon chief said at a meeting of military aid donors to Ukraine.
The fact that a Russian fighter jet met with an American MQ-9 Reaper UAV over the Black Sea, became known on Tuesday, March 14.
The statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense says that on the morning of March 14, an American UAV was recorded flying in the direction of the state border of the Russian Federation in the area of the Crimean peninsula. in violation of the boundaries of the area of the regime for the use of airspace. «In this regard, fighters from the air defense forces on duty were raised into the air.
The Ministry of Defense states that as a result of a sharp maneuver, the US drone went into an uncontrolled flight, lost altitude and then collided with water.
It is also stated that the Russian fighters did not use weapons against the drone, did not come into contact with it and returned safely to home airfield.