A Russian state arms and technology group claimed Friday to have downed a U.S. surveillance drone over Ukraine’s Crimea region, Agence France Presse reported. “The drone was flying at about 12,000 feet and was virtually invisible from the ground. It was possible to break the link with U.S. operators with complex radio-electronic” technology, Moscow-based company Rostec said in a statement.
An U.S. attack drone was intercepted in the sky over Ukraine’s Crimea region on Friday, according to Russian state-owned holding company Rostec. The drone was reportedly about 12,000 feet in the air when someone broke the link between the drone and its operator, causing it to perform an emergency landing. The report is unconfirmed, but Voice of Russia reports that the drone appeared to be “part of the 66th U.S. brigade of military intelligence with the main location in Bavaria,” which is what Rostec allegedly determined from the writing on the side of the drone. Rostec is a science and technology company owned by the Russian government, and part of its focus is on aviation research. It also works with various organizations — not just Russian ones — that build various aircrafts.