The US has released dramatic footage of the moment a Russian fighter jet crashed into one of its military drones.
The Pentagon shared the de-classified video online this morning after the collision over the Black Sea earlier this week.
It shows a Russian military jet coming very close to a the military drone, dumping fuel near it and then damaging a propeller in the aftermath of the intercept.
US officials criticised the Russian pilots for acting in a reckless manner prior to the crash.
The Russian fighter jet and US military drone collided on TuesdayREUTERS"Two Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept," the US said in a statement.
"Russian Su-27s dumped fuel upon and struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters."
The released video is about 40 seconds long and has been edited by the US military for length.
However the Pentagon said "the events are depicted in sequential order" in the footage.
Russia has claimed that its jets “did not use airborne weapons and did not come into contact” with the US drone.
Yesterday Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, criticised Joe Biden's administration over the incident, calling it a "provocation".
He said: "We are concerned about the unacceptable activity of the US military in the immediate vicinity of our borders."
His statement came after the US summoned the ambassador over the incident.
The incident took place close to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin added: "The United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows.
"And it is incumbent on Russia to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner."
The Russian jet dumped fuel on the drone
REUTERS
The drone and the jet appeared to make contact despite Russia's denials
REUTERS
The race is now on for the US to recover the drone from the Black Sea before Russia intercepts the unmanned flying object first.
Washington has said that any recovery efforts relating to the drone would be difficult because of the depth of water in the region.
It said it has taken measures to ensure that no sensitive information can be gleaned from the remains of the drone.
Russian ships have been seen near the area where the drone crashed attempting to recover the device from the water.