What we know and don't know about the U.S. drone-Russia jet collision

When a Russian fighter jet collided with a large U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, it was a rare but serious incident that triggered a U.S. diplomatic protest and raised concerns about the possibility Russia could recover sensitive technology.

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.

Defence officials said the drone has not been recovered. But the Pentagon declined to say whether any effort was underway to gather debris or pieces of the Reaper.

Here's what's known and uncertain about the crash.

What the U.S. says happened

The Pentagon and U.S. European Command said that two Russian Su-27 aircraft dumped fuel on the MQ-9, which was conducting a routine surveillance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace. They said the Russian jets flew around and in front of the drone several times for 30 to 40 minutes, and then one of the Russian aircraft "struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters."

On Thursday, the Pentagonreleased a video it said shows the moment aRussian fighter jet clipped the drone's propeller. It was taken by a camera attached to the MQ-9and shows aRussian Su-27 making an extremely close pass.

On a second approach, either the same jet or another Russian fighter made contact with the drone, the Pentagon said. After that manoeuvre, the video feed becomes pixelatedand the image changes into bars of colour, which the Pentagon says resulted from the collision.

The video, which is about 40 seconds long, has been editedby the U.S. military for lengthbut shows events in a sequentialorder, the Pentagon said.

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 spokespersonBrig.-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.

The Pentagon said the drone was "well clear" of any Ukrainian territory, but did not provide details. A U.S. defence official said it was operating west of Crimea over the Black Sea. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide mission details.

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.

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday about the incident the first call between Austin and Defence MinisterSergei Shoigu since October.

"I just got off the phone with my Russian counterpart, Minister Shoigu," Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing. "As I've said repeatedly, it's important that great powers be models of transparency and communication, and the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows."

Gen. Mark Milley, chairof the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked by reporters whether he considered Russia's move an act of war, but he declined to comment.

The U.S. has said it was working on declassifying surveillance footage from the drone that would show Tuesday's crash.

WATCH |Former U.S. marine says incident shows Russia 'willing to engage':

Russian collision with U.S. drone 'escalation' says former U.S. marine

2 years ago

Duration 1:52

Former U.S. marine Elliot Ackerman says the length of time Russia devoted to following a U.S. drone over the Black Sea and the way he believes the drone was brought down shows that Russia is ready to engage in 'escalatory activities.'

What Russia says happened

The Russian Defence 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 manoeuvre, the U.S. drone went into uncontrollable flight with a loss of altitude and collided with water surface."

Russia has declared broad areas near Crimea off limits to flights. Ever since the 2014 annexation of Crimea and long before Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Moscow has charged that U.S. surveillance planes were flying too close to its borders while ignoring the notices issued by Russia.

Nations routinely operate in international airspace and waters, and no country can claim limits on territory outside of its own border.

The ministry said the Russian aircraft were scrambled to intercept the drone but didn't use their weapons and "didn't come into contact" with it.

What is an MQ-9 Reaper?

The MQ-9 Reaper is a large unmanned air force aircraft that is remotely operated by a two-person team. It includes a ground control station and satellite equipment and has a 20-metrewingspan. The team includes a rated pilot who is responsible for flying the aircraft and an enlisted aircrew member who is charged with operating the sensors and guiding weapons.

Used routinely during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for surveillance and airstrikes, the Reaper can be either armed or unarmed. It can carry up to eight laser-guided missiles, including Hellfire missiles and other sophisticated munitions, and can loiter over targets for about 24 hours. It is about 11 metreslong, 3.7 metreshighand weighs about 2,200 kilograms. It can fly at an altitude of up to 15 kilometresand has a range of about 2,500 kilometres.

The Reaper, which first began operating in 2007, replaced the air force's smaller Predator drones. Each Reaper costs about $32 million US.

Diplomatic dust-up

The collision triggered a diplomatic protest.

The U.S. State Department summoned Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov to a meeting Tuesday with Karen Donfried, the assistant secretary of state for Europe.

"We are engaging directly with the Russians, again at senior levels, to convey our strong objections to this unsafe, unprofessional intercept, which caused the downing of the unmanned U.S. aircraft," said State Department spokespersonNed Price.

And White House National Security spokespersonJohn Kirby said the U.S. will be "expressing our concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional intercept."

Has it happened before?

This is not the first time Russian aircraft have flown so close to U.S. aircraft in the Black Sea that it's prompted the Pentagon to publicly condemn the incident for putting the crews at risk. In 2020, Russian jets crossed in front of a B-52 bomber that was flying over the Black Sea, and flew as close as 30 metres in front of the bomber's nose, causing turbulence.

Russian jets have also buzzed U.S. warships during exercises in the Black Sea. In 2021, a Russian jetbuzzed the USS Donald Cook, a Navy destroyer, which had been taking part in a major exercise. Until Russia's invasionof Ukraine last year, U.S. warships more frequently deployed to the Black Sea in response to Russia's 2014 attack on Crimea.

For the most part, however, military intercepts either in the air or at sea are routine and have happened a number of times with Russian aircraft in the Pacific, particularly in the north. Just last month, U.S. fighter jets intercepted two Russian TU-95 bombers in international airspace off Alaska's coast, and "escorted them" for 12 minutes, according to the Pentagon.

Russian aircraft have done similar missions. In most of the cases, the intercepts are deemed safe and professional.

It's not clear if the Russian pilots were willing to get closer to the Reaper or dump fuel on it because they knew it was unmanned and therefore there was no risk to an American pilot or crew. The deliberate downing of a manned aircraft injuring or killing crew members could be considered an act of war.

What's the Canadian perspective?

Scott Clancy, a retired major-general of the Canadian Armed Forces and the former deputy commander for the AlaskaNorth American Aerospace Defence Command(NORAD) region, told CBC News Network "there's a huge Canadian nexus here."

Clancy noted that Canadian CF-18s have been periodically stationed in Romanianear where the incident took place, and thatRussia has sometimes performed "provocative flying" near Canada.

"This type of incident, which has occurred in the past with manned aircraft, can be extraordinarily disconcerting for escalation, as well as for the safety of the crews involved," he said.

NATO and Canada need to stand strong with the United States, he said.
"These kind of provocative activities, wherever they occur, are an affront to peaceful operations and relationships between nations."