Has Putin Won the Race to Find a Crashed US Drone? Russian media claims Kremlin Reaper forces spotted 953 feet in Black Sea after being attacked by US-27s

According to Russian media, Kremlin forces allegedly found the crashed US MQ-9 Reaper drone at a depth of up to 300 meters in the Black Sea off the main naval port of Sevastopol.

A source close to the Russian Defense Ministry reportedly told ForPost, a publication in annexed Crimea: “An underwater robot descended to the seabed and spotted the MQ-9 Reaper at a depth of approximately 850 to 900 meters .

“The deepwater branch of the South Stream gas pipeline runs not far from this area.”

According to the report, Russian naval forces were “deployed in the area where the US military reconnaissance vehicle crashed”.

A day earlier, there were claims from Russian sources in leaked radio transmissions that debris from the US drone had been found on the surface.

There was no official confirmation of ForPost’s claim.

It is unclear how long it might take a Russian salvage operation to recover the downed drone.

Russian media claimed that Kremlin troops found the crashed US drone near the port

Officials familiar with US intelligence on the incident that led to the downing of a US Reaper drone said the “highest level” in the Kremlin authorized the “aggressive” Russian interception over the Black Sea.

Footage released by the Pentagon earlier today shows the moment a Russian fighter jet crashed into a US MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace over the Black Sea.

The accident is the first direct confrontation between Russia and the US since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Russia previously claimed it did not make contact with the drone after the UAV crashed over international waters on March 14.

But the new footage appeared to show the Su-27 jamming the drone’s propeller after it flew overhead and spilled fuel overboard.

On-board camera footage showed damage to the drone before it crashed into the Black Sea.

Moscow said it would work to recover the debris in what Vladimir Putin said would be a propaganda coup, but after previous warnings it would “view any action involving US weapons as openly hostile”.

US officials also assured that steps were taken to ensure that foreign actors could not extract information from the remains of the drone.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said: “As far as the loss of anything sensitive…intelligence information etc…as usual we will take action – and we have taken mitigating action – so we’re pretty sure of whatever value. ” wax has no more value.’

Following the release of the new footage, the Tories warned that a Russian fighter jet attack on a US drone must have “consequences” – amid a race to save the wreckage.

Defense Commission chairman Tobias Ellwood said the “unbelievable” incident was an example of how quickly tensions can escalate.

Mr Ellwood told the Express: “This incident shows how drone warfare is changing the nature of conflict.

“Russia would not have dumped fuel if the plane had been manned.”

He added: “This was a blatant attack on international airspace and should not go unnoticed.”

The recently released clip shared today shows the unmanned drone making contact with a Russian jet just after 07:00 CET (6:00 GMT) on Tuesday after remaining “in the vicinity” of the aircraft.

Sequential video, edited for length by the US military, shows one of two Russian jets flying over international waters pulling up on the drone and approaching from behind.

According to US officials, the MQ-9 Reaper drone was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 jets, which dumped fuel on the drone before cutting off the propeller and causing it to crash

The $32 million Reaper drone was shot down by Russia

An American MQ-9 Reaper drone (left) and a Russian Su-27 fighter jet (right)

The video shows the Russian fighter jet approaching the US drone from behind and beginning to release fuel as it flies past, the Pentagon said

The plane will start dumping fuel on the drone before the camera takes damage

The drone’s camera stabilizes after the SU-27 flew overhead and clipped its propeller

After the impact, the on-board camera shows a broken propeller (L) and a similarly working propeller (R) spinning. Russia previously said it did not make contact with the drone

The jet is shown dumping fuel as it flies by. The dumping of fuel is typically used by aircraft in emergency situations to shed weight.

The drone’s camera was damaged before it had to make an emergency landing in international waters.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, called Russia’s actions reckless and dangerous.

But Russia’s defense ministry resisted, saying in a statement: “Russian fighters did not deploy air forces and did not interact with the US drone.

“Due to sharp maneuvers, the American drone went into an uncontrolled flight with loss of altitude and collided with the water surface.”