Officials at the Pentagon's European Command released declassified video on Thursday showing one of their drones coming into contact with Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea.
The video shows a Russian jet twice dumping fuel on the drone. Then a jet collides with the aircraft, damaging its propeller. Officials say they were forced to crash the drone into the waters below.
US Defense Department Press Secretary Patrick Ryder said, "The Russian military and the Russian government is responsible for its own behavior. And when that behavior is unsafe and unprofessional, we're going to call it out."
Russian authorities say their jet did not make contact with the drone. They added that the Americans were trying to provoke them by ignoring flight restrictions they imposed around Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the Kremlin said their forces will recover the drone if they consider the operation necessary for national security.
However, US military officials say the aircraft sank in waters more than a thousand meters deep, making any recovery a challenge.