Russian Jet Collides With US Drone Over Black Sea: US Military

UPDATE: The US will summon the Russian ambassador over the collision between the Russian fighter jet and American Reaper drone over the Black Sea, the US State Department says.

A Russian Su-27 jet fighter collided with an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, the US military's European Command said.

"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," said US Air Force General James Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa.

"In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash."