Russia to award pilots involved in US drone incident

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Defense Ministry says fighter pilots involved in an incident with a U.S. drone that resulted in its crash will be given state awards. Friday’s announcement appears to signal Moscow’s intention to adopt a more aggressive stance toward future American surveillance flights. The U.S. military said it ditched the Air Force MQ-9 Reaper in the Black Sea on Tuesday after a pair of Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the surveillance drone and then one of them struck its propeller while it was flying in international airspace. Moscow has denied that its warplanes hit the drone.