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What the Black Sea drone collision involved
Summary
A look back at the Russian fighter jets and the American MQ-9 Reaper that met over international waters.
What happened over the Black Sea on 14 March 2023, and why did it draw attention? On that morning, Russian Air Force Su-27 fighter jets intercepted a United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone and struck it. The collision damaged the drone's propeller, and the United States then crashed the drone into international waters.
The nature of the contact
The encounter was a direct physical meeting between the aircraft of the two countries. It was later described as the first direct contact between the Russian and United States air forces since the Cold War. That description is a later assessment, not something stated on 14 March 2023 itself.
What it meant for relations
The incident fell within the wider frame of Russia–United States relations. The damage to the propeller left the American side without control of the aircraft, and the drone ended up in the sea rather than returning to base. The outcome was a lost aircraft and a sharp point of friction between two militaries operating in the same airspace above a body of water bordering Ukraine.
The episode showed how close the two air forces could come to one another in the region.
