According to a report by the Interfax news agency, Russia has identified a US reconnaissance drone that approached the Russian border over the Black Sea.
Following these incidents, the military launched a Su-27 fighter jet, as reported by the agency citing the Russian Ministry of Defense. When the jet approached, the drone reversed course, as reported by the German news website n-tv.de.
These claims have not yet been independently verified and/or confirmed. Therefore, they should be regarded with caution. In times of war, it can be advantageous for conflicting parties to intentionally spread misinformation to bolster their own position or weaken that of the opponent.
The single-seat Su-27 “Flanker” is considered an extremely fast and high-performance fighter aircraft due to its twin tail fins. Originally developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s in response to the introduction of American F-15 and F-16 aircraft, the first Su-27 models were deployed as interceptors in the Soviet Air Force from 1984 onwards. Prototypes of these aircraft set more than 40 world records in altitude and takeoff speed, as reported by the the German news platform Frankfurter Allgemeine.
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin at the site Donguzsky (2015-09-19) 10.jpg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size changed)
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