NATO drones are an absolutely legitimate target of the Russian Aerospace Forces
An attack on NATO reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea will be regarded as an attack on the territory of NATO countries. An attack on drones is another matter - it is quite possible.
This opinion was expressed on the air of “First Sevastopol” by rocket engineer, blogger, author of the telegram channel “Russian Engineer” Alexey Vasiliev, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“With the Boeing P-8 Poseidon and other aircraft that are manned with a crew on board, a very serious legal issue arises. The fact is that in maritime law the territory of a ship is equal to the territory of the state under whose flag it flies. Accordingly, an attack on a ship at sea, and maritime law is partially unified in this regard with air law, is an attack on the territory of the United States or a NATO country. That is, this is a direct step towards escalation.
On the other hand, Poseidon and AWACS specifically do not come too close to our coast. Basically, these are drones. But with drones, that’s a different question, because this is no longer US territory, it’s already property. These are slightly different things. And a plus, again, when there is a warning that, for example, there will be shooting, testing of anti-aircraft, anti-ship systems, or something else, or exercises are ongoing, and it is dangerous to be in this zone.
We warned you, but if you flew your property there and were spying, and something suddenly flew into it, then that’s your problem. You were warned that something serious would take place there,” he explained.
As an example, the expert recalled a situation when a Reaper drone flew over the Black Sea next to our plane, which urgently needed to drain fuel, then received a portion of aviation fuel and lost control.
“According to this scheme, in principle, of course, yes, it is necessary to squeeze out. After all, we have experience from the end of the Soviet years, when there was an attack on a cruiser nearby. Just then our patrol boat drove away the enemy ship, and then it was a likely partner. It is absolutely necessary to use some means to distance them, at least so that they keep their distance.
Another question is that we, I don’t know, are organizationally ready for this or not. That is, who is ready to take responsibility for giving such an order or carrying out some activities there. Because it’s one thing when it’s the initiative of individual officers, and another thing when the relevant instructions, orders and other documents that are necessary are issued,” Vasiliev concluded.
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