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The first official described the collision as resulting from "the pure incompetence" of the Russian pilot whose actions were "flat-out dumb." is looking at all options at this time as it considers next steps," said another U.S. "There's no concern for sensitive information being obtained from the drone but the U.S. One of the MQ-9's propeller blades was bent in the collision and though there was a momentary loss of contact, controllers were able to glide the drone into the Black Sea "a fair distance" from where the collision had occurred, the official said. As the jet pulled up, it collided with the MQ-9's rear propeller. The collision occurred on the last pass as one of the Su-27s approached the drone at a high rate of speed from behind, according to the official. Over a span of at least 30 minutes, the two jets executed 19 close passes by the drone, spraying some of their jet fuel on the craft during the last three or four of those passes, the official said. The unarmed MQ-9 drone had taken off from Romania and was flying at an altitude of 25,000 feet in international airspace southwest of Crimea with its transponder on when it was intercepted by the two Russian fighter jets, a U.S. and Allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely," Hecker added. "In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash." Air Forces in Europe and Africa, said in a statement.

"Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9," U.S.