On March 14, a U.S. drone was flown into international airspace; the drone was on a regular reconnaissance mission when the drone was reportedly flown into by a Russian fighter jet. After the incident, the drone reportedly crashed into the sea below and has not been recovered and most likely will not be.

The drone was doing reconnaissance in the Black sea international airspace near Crimea. The drone was put in service there due to the Ukraine-Russian war and the fact that Russia has a keen military and strategic economic interest in the Crimean peninsula.

The U.S. drone was unmanned. Speculators believe that if the drone were manned, the incident would have been a much larger deal. There are two sides to this story, one from the U.S. and one from Russia. According to the U.S., two Russian fighter jets intercepted the drone and poured fuel on it before hitting the drone’s propeller.

According to the Russian defense ministry, the drone flew with its transponders off allowing the drone to fly without being tracked. The ministry also reported that the drone crashed after what was called a sharp maneuver and denied the jets making any contact at all.

“It’s not the first time they did something like that, I’m sure it won’t be the last,” sophomore Jesse Weekly said.

On the 16 of March, the footage was released showing the events over the Black sea. In the video that was captured by the drone, it can be seen, one of the Russian fighter jets came into close proximity with the drone before taking any action to get out of its way.

One day before this, on March 15, the Russian security council secretary released a statement that said Russia was actively making attempts to find the drone.

A few days later on March 17, the two Russian fighter pilots involved in the incident were awarded medals for not allowing the drone to enter a part of the Black sea near Crimea. Russia has restricted the airspace even though the Black sea is supposed to be international, meaning no one government has reign over it.

“Why would they say it was an accident but then say they barely missed it those aren’t the same things,” Weekly continued.

As of writing this no clear retaliation has been made against Russia on the side of the U.S. but the incident does raise the question as tensions rise between nations; how much longer can the U.S. stay out of a direct military confrontation with Russia?

“The fact they intercepted it in airspace that’s supposed to be for everyone is just crazy,” senior Elise Businger said.