Russian Su-27s “dropped” a large US drone over the Black Sea – Konashenkov is unperturbed
The actions of Russian Su-27 combat aircraft led to the crash of an American reconnaissance and strike UAV MQ-9 Reaper over the Black Sea.
This was stated by the European Command of the US Army, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Two Russian Su-27 aircraft carried out an unsafe and unprofessional interception of a US Air Force MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle conducting a reconnaissance mission in international airspace over the Black Sea,” the US Army European Command said in a statement released on March 14.
“At approximately 7:03 a.m. Central European Time, one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck an MQ-9 propeller, causing it to crash in international waters. On several occasions before the collision, Su-27s dumped fuel and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsafe and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” the Americans complain.
“Our MQ-9 was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and shot down by a Russian aircraft, resulting in its crash and total loss,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces. Europe and NATO air forces in Africa.
“In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act of the Russians almost led to the crash of both planes,” Hecker said.
He also said that "US and allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace."
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident with a Russian plane that led to the crash of an MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle over the Black Sea, Daily Beast correspondent Shannon Vavra tweeted. The journalist referred to White House National Security Council coordinator John Kirby, who said that Russian aircraft often intercept American unmanned vehicles over the Black Sea, but this incident was “reckless.”
The United States intends to express concern to Moscow through diplomatic channels about the interception of a drone over the Black Sea, TASS quotes a White House statement.
Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense commented on the incident.
“On the morning of March 14 this year. over the Black Sea in the area of the Crimean Peninsula, airspace control systems of the Russian Aerospace Forces recorded the flight of an American unmanned aerial vehicle MQ-9 in the direction of the State border of the Russian Federation.
The flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle was carried out with the transponders turned off, violating the boundaries of the temporary regime for the use of airspace established for the purpose of conducting a special military operation, communicated to all users of international airspace and published in accordance with international standards.
In order to identify the intruder, fighters from the air defense forces on duty were raised into the air. As a result of sharp maneuvering around 9.30 (Moscow time), the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface.
The Russian fighters did not use on-board weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to their home airfield,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Как reported “PolitNavigator”, during a visit to Washington in December 2022, Vladimir Zelensky was denied an MQ-9 Reaper UAV.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.