But there are concerns that Russian pilots will knock a Reaper drone out of the sky and that Moscow believes that type of action would not get a strong US military response, the official said.

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-sending-f-16-fighter-jets-to-protect-ships-from-iranian-seizures-in-gulf-region/

On March 14, a Russian SU-27 fighter brought down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea.

Source: https://www.opednews.com/articles/Cacophany-Not-Harmony-US-American-Foreign-Policy-230317-326.html

On Tuesday, a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed into the Black Sea, about 75 miles off the coast of Crimea.

Source: https://truthout.org/video/russia-us-drone-encounter-is-an-incendiary-development-says-jeremy-scahill/

US and Russian officials had conflicting accounts of the collision between the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the Russian Su-27 fighter jet - each blaming the other.

Source: https://www.9news.com.au/world/russia-us-drone-collision-update-explainer/1dd03612-ee6f-4a5f-b77d-4bdc727c2de9