Footage released by the US military reveals three key moments during an incident involving one of its MQ-9 drones and a Russian aircraft over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
Washington says the 42-second video, released on Thursday morning in the US, shows the actions the Russian pilot took to take down the drone.
Here are the moments leading up to the drone plunging into the ocean, and how the US says it unfolded.
First came the jet fuel
The first eight seconds of the video show a jet approaching the drone from behind, then releasing fuel as it nears and passes over.
The footage is shot from the bottom of the drone, and captures its back propeller slowing after the fuel is released.
US officials say Russia's actions appear to have been an effort to damage the US aircraft as it conducted surveillance over the Black Sea.
Dumping the fuel appeared to be aimed at blinding the drone's optical instruments and driving it from the area.
Close manoeuvres cause the video feed to cut
In the final section of the footage, either the same jet on a second approach — or another Russian fighter that had been shadowing the MQ-9 — strikes the drone’s propeller and damages a blade, according to the US military.
The US says it then ditched its aircraft in the sea.
Then there is visible damage to the drone propeller
David Notowitz, president of the US National Centre for Audio and Video Forensics, has analysed the footage and says it's clear the drone has been struck.
“The second time in this short video we see [the Russian jet] approaching, obviously it hits the drone because of the damage done to the propellers on the drone," Mr Notowitz says.
“We do see a drastic difference between the propellers before and after that second flyby of the plane.”
What doesn't the video show?
The video released by the Pentagon doesn't show the events before or after the confrontation.
It also doesn't show the Russian warplane striking the drone.
Russia says its fighters didn't strike the drone and it instead argues the unmanned aerial vehicle went down after making a sharp manoeuvre.
Will Russia recover the drone debris?
Kremlin Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev has said Russia will "have to" begin recovery work.
"I don't know if we can recover [it] or not, but we will certainly have to do that and we will deal with it," Mr Patrushev said.
"I certainly hope for success."
And that is no surprise to the Pentagon.
"We do have indications that Russia is likely making an effort to try to recover MQ-9 debris … however, we assess it's very unlikely that they would be able to recover anything useful," Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, says.
What is an MQ-9 Reaper?
It's a large, unmanned military aircraft that is operated remotely by a two-person team that consists of a rated pilot and an enlisted aircrew member.
The aircraft was first flown in 2001 and was routinely used during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for surveillance and air strikes.
Each Reaper costs about $US32 million ($47.9 million) and can fly at speeds of up to 445 kilometres per hour and altitudes of up to 50,000 feet. It has a range of about 2,600 kilometres.
ABC/AP
