Narrow escape: Russian jet swoops dangerously close to Ukrainian drone
A Russian Su-25 attack aircraft narrowly missed a reconnaissance drone, as captured in a video published by channels associated with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
6:09 AM EDT, April 26, 2024
The footage, released by a Ukrainian Armed Forces-associated channel, spans almost a minute. It shows the drone on a reconnaissance mission, flying at about 34 mph and an altitude near 187 feet. Around 16 seconds into the video, the drone operator pans the camera right, revealing two approaching Russian attack jets.
Close call between aircraft and drone
Merely two seconds later, one jet passes alarmingly close to the drone, which then plunges more than 60 feet in a moment. Despite this, the operator regains control and continues to observe the Russian jets as they fly away.
"The Russian Su-25 pilot nearly caused an accident by coming dangerously close to the drone. There are precedents where planes have crashed after birds were sucked into their engines. Tragically, in this instance, the drone barely escaped by inches," according to "Operational News of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
