US Military Releases Video of Drone Incident over Black Sea

The United States military on Thursday released a video of what it said was a Russian fighter jet releasing fuel onto an American drone. The incident took place in international airspace. U.S. military officials said the Russian jet also hit the drone's propeller¹ and caused it to crash into the Black Sea.

The incident heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S. over the war in Ukraine.

The 42-second video shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 Reaper² drone and releasing fuel as it passes, U.S. officials said. The action appeared to be aimed at disabling the drone's camera to drive it from the area.

On a second approach, either the same jet or another Russian fighter then hit the drone's propeller. This caused the unmanned aircraft to crash into the sea.

The video does not show events before or after the incident and does not show the Russian warplane striking the drone.

Russia had claimed that its fighters did not strike the drone. Russian officials said the unmanned vehicle went down after making a sharp movement.

Russia and NATO member countries regularly intercept³ each other's warplanes. But the drone incident marked the first time since the Cold War that a U.S. aircraft went down as a result of such action. The incident also raises concerns that it could bring the United States and Russia closer to direct conflict.

The incident was serious enough that top U.S. and Russian defense⁴ and military leaders spoke⁵ with each other on Wednesday.

The calls between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, as well as between Joint⁶ Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley and General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russian General Staff, were the first since October.

The Russian Defense Ministry's report of the call said that Shoigu accused the U.S. of causing the incident by ignoring Russia's flight restrictions⁷ in the area. Russia argues that by providing weapons and sharing intelligence with Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies have effectively been involved in the war.

The wings of the unmanned MQ-9 are 20 meters wide. It operates using a ground control station and satellite equipment. The drone also can carry weapons. But a Defense spokesperson would not say whether the drone had been armed.

The video's release is the latest example of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden making public intelligence findings related to the war. The administration has said it wants to highlight Russian activity and misinformation, so allies remain clear about Russian aims.

Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the decision of whether or not to recover the wreckage⁸ was up to the military. "If they consider it necessary to do so in the Black Sea for the benefit of our interests and our security, they will do it," he said. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said Wednesday that an attempt would be made.

U.S. officials have said that nothing of military value would remain from the drone even if Russia managed to recover the wreckage. They left open the possibility of trying to recover parts of the $32 million aircraft, which they said crashed into waters that were 1,200 to 1,500 meters deep. The U.S., however, does not have any ships in the area.

Words in This Story

drone –n. a pilotless aircraft that is used for taking pictures or for military purposes

propeller –v. a device with blades that turn quickly to provide power for airplanes or boats

approach –v. to move nearer to something

intercept –v. to go out and meet a target that is traveling to a certain place before that target get to the place it is going

1 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

2 reaper   

n.收割者，收割机

参考例句：

• The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest.这幅画的画面设计成一个年轻的割禾人在午间休息。
• A rabbit got caught in the blades of the reaper.一只兔子被卷到收割机的刀刃中去了。

3 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。