A Russian MiG-29 shot down a Georgian UAV over the weekend, while it was flying over Georgian territory. Georgian radar tracked the plane as it took off from the breakaway Abkhazia region flew to attack the UAV within Georgian airspace, then returned to Russia. See the video of the attack here.
Russia's RIA Novosti continues its historic role:
"The air defense forces of Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia have shot down a Georgian pilotless reconnaissance aircraft, Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh said over the phone on Sunday."
Small problem - the breakaway republic doesn't have MiG-29s, which the plane in the video clearly is (at that range, the missile was likely an AA-11 Archer). The UAV was an Israeli Hermes 450, if you're curious. That model is also the basis for Britain's Watchkeeper Mk450 medium UAV, currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
US State Department statement | A follow-on UN investigation concludes that it was a Russian MiG-29, adding that "interception took place very close to, or even inside an international airway," while civilian aircraft were flying.
Interesting video perspective for a successful air-to-air engagement.
Mark, also interesting to recall the plot of Michael Crichton's Rising Sun. This sort of footage is getting well within fakery-capability for people of even modest means. Not saying it's fake -- just that "photos don't lie" is less true now than ever before in history.
A better question is what the Abkhazia/Russian forces were trying to hide from the UAV that Google Earth cannot show the Georians.