Video shows moment Russian fighter jet hits US drone over Black Sea
Video shows moment Russian fighter jet hits US drone over Black Sea.
The US said the damage to the large drone meant it had to be brought down into the water near Ukraine on Tuesday.
Russia denied its Su-27 fighter jet clipped the propeller of the drone, but the video appears to back up the American version of events.
It was in the Pentagon’s interest to release this video – not least to verify its version of events.
The BBC has not seen the events before or after the collision. The US initially said the confrontation lasted around 30-40 minutes.
On Wednesday night, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “We remain confident in the facts we’ve conveyed so far.”
He said then the Pentagon was looking at what video could be released. It is not unusual for militaries to take some time to declassify video footage before making it public.
Mr Austin previously described Russia’s actions as dangerous and reckless – and the edited video released appears to back that up.
A feed from a camera fitted under the fuselage of the surveillance drone shows a Russian SU-27 making two extremely close passes while releasing what appears to be fuel as it approaches.