On a second approach, the Russian Su-27 jet released kerosene again and then collided with the drone, the US command center for Europe said on Thursday. However, the collision cannot be seen in the video. According to US information, the camera failed for around a minute. The partly damaged propeller of the drone can be seen in the video.
According to US information, the MQ-9 drone collided with a Russian fighter jet in international airspace over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
Moscow denies responsibility
The US military said two Russian fighter jets had begun an intercept maneuver. One of the fighter jets damaged the propeller of the US drone. The USA complained that the Russian pilots acted “unprofessionally”, “unsafely” and “recklessly”. Russia, on the other hand, rejected the allegations and accused the Americans of provocation.
USA: Video shows drone crash
After the crash of an unmanned military drone over the Black Sea, the US military has released footage of the incident. It shows a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel as it approaches the US drone and then flying very close. That supports the US version of Tuesday’s incident.
The Russian fighter planes did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle. They went up to identify an unknown intruder over the Black Sea. The transponder was switched off and the drone headed for Russia’s border. During a sharp evasive maneuver, she rapidly lost altitude and fell, according to the Russian version.
tensions fueled
In a telephone call with his US colleague on Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu pointed out that the US had ignored airspace closures in connection with the Ukraine war. In addition, the United States had increased its reconnaissance activities towards Russia. That is the reason for the incident.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin responded that the United States would continue to fly and operate where international law allows. It is important to keep communication with Russia open. You don’t want an escalation.
The US State Department said on Wednesday that the incident was probably not intentional on the part of the Russian pilots. The most plausible explanation is that the incident happened unintentionally, ministry spokesman Ned Price told MSNBC. Presumably one of the Russian pilots is very incompetent. It also said that while there had been several incidents of a similar nature, he was unique in his ruthlessness.
salvage planned
Russia said it would try to recover the debris from the drone to reveal what Washington planned to do with the mission. US Chief of Staff Mark Milley stressed that the crashed US military drone was probably no longer of any value. The drone is US property and there is “probably not much to salvage”. With regard to the information collected by the drone, the USA had taken “damage limitation measures, as is usual in such cases”.
The drone is probably in about 1,200 to 1,500 meters of water depth, you know the place, said the US chief of staff. At this depth, the rescue is “very difficult for everyone”. The US itself had no ships there. “But we have many allies and friends in the region who will help with the salvage work.”
