The incident lasted a matter of seconds, defense officials said, and was captured on video by the drone. One of the two Russian jet fighters flew past the drone, dumped fuel and pulled away. As the second sought to do the same immediately afterward, that jet instead collided with the drone, the officials said.
One Pentagon official described the move as a “juvenile” but accidental move by the Russian pilots.
The U.S. regularly operates drones in the Black Sea. While both nations have tracked one another operating in the area, there has not been a collision or reckless engagement, defense officials said.
