US drone flights over Black Sea resume after Russian collision

The United States has resumed normal flights through international waters over the Black Sea after a drone crashed due to Russian interference.

US officials said Friday an RQ-4 Global Hawk flew through the region — the first US plane since the skirmish, according to Reuters.

RUSSIA AWARDS STATE AWARDS TO PILOTS BEHIND US DRONE CRASH

Military officials reassured the public that Russian harassment of the US drone Tuesday would not affect regular operations in the region.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin summarized the incident in a news conference on Wednesday, saying: “Two Russian jets dumped fuel onto a US MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle conducting routine operations in international airspace. And a Russian jet intercepted and hit our MQ-9 plane, resulting in a crash. “

Austin slammed the Russian military for its actions, saying the Black Sea incident was “part of a pattern of aggressive, risky and unsafe actions by Russian pilots in international airspace.”

US VIDEO SHOWS MOMENT WHEN RUSSIAN FIGHTER JET COLLIDES WITH US DRONE

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley attends a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Pentagon March 15, 2023 in Washington, DC (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia denied the planes touched and unnecessarily blamed the US escalate problem.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented state awards to the responsible fighter jet pilots Shooting down of a US drone Earlier this week over the Black Sea.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Fire and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Gardens during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow, Russia February 23, 2023. (PAVEL BEDNYAKOV/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

In an official statement, the Defense Ministry praised the pilots for preventing the drone from “violating the limits of the temporary airspace regime established for the special military operation.”

The statement accused the US drone of flying with transponders turned off.