Russian fighter jets intercept U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone

Russian fighter jets were scrambled to intercept U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle over the neutral waters of the Black Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

The crews of the Russian fighters approached the air target within a safe distance and identified him as MQ-9 Reaper multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft.

The MQ-9 Reaper is employed primarily against dynamic execution targets and secondarily as an intelligence collection asset. Given its significant loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons — it provides a unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets.

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Moreover, today, Russian fighter jets also intercepted U.S. Navy P-8A “Poseidon” patrol plane and RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft.

The Russian pilots have been regularly intercepting U.S. planes approaching Russia’s borders lately.

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Executive Editor

About author:

Colton Jones
Colton Jones
Colton Jones is the deputy editor of Defence Blog. He is a US-based journalist, writer and publisher who specializes in the defense industry in North America and Europe. He has written about emerging technology in military magazines and elsewhere. He is a former Air Force airmen and served at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

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