Pentagon releases video of incident with Russian jets, US drone over Black Sea

A video of an incident involving a US drone and Russian jets over the Black Sea was published by the Pentagon on Thursday.

Footage appears to be shot from a camera attached to an airborne drone, showing the wing and propeller of the unmanned craft. A fighter jet is seen approaching and passing over the drone. A second view shows a jet passing over the craft, before the image cuts out.

The Pentagon claimed it showed a jet dumping fuel on the drone in an attempt to blind the optical instruments. It alleged that a second plane struck the propeller of the drone, damaging one of its blades, and causing US forces to bring it down.

The US Defence Department also said the unmanned craft was operating in 'international airspace'.

The video does not show events before or after the apparent altercation.

Meanwhile, Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov claimed on Wednesday that the drone had 'violated the boundaries of the area of temporary regime of airspace use which was established for the purpose of a special military operation'.

"Fighters on duty from the Air Defence Forces were airborne for the purpose of identifying the trespasser. As a result of sharp manoeuvring around 9:30 am Moscow time, the MQ-9 drone went into an uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and crashed into the surface of the water," he stated.

"Russian fighters did not use on-board weapons, did not contact the unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to their home airfield," Konashenkov added.

Moscow has not responded to the video released by the Pentagon at time of publication.