Russian shoot down US drones on the Black Sea on Tuesday spurred a diplomatic spat and a race to recover some top-secret technology.
The White House criticized Moscow’s actions as “unsafe, unprofessional and reckless” while the Russian Defense Ministry denied its aircraft had come into contact with the drones.
Russian and American aircraft have been operating over the Black Sea for some time Moscow’s War in Ukrainebut this is the first incident of its kind since the conflict began.
Here’s what you need to know.
What happened to US drones?
The drone – a US-made MQ-9 Reaper – and two Russian Su-27 planes were flying over international waters over the Black Sea on Tuesday when one of the Russian jets attempted to fly. love to fly ahead and dump fuel on some drones. times, a statement from the US European Command said.
The plane then collided with the drone’s propeller, prompting remote drone operators to bring it down into international waters. Pentagon spokesman Brig. General Patrick Ryder added on Tuesday that the Russian plane flew “close to” the drone for 30 to 40 minutes before impacting at 7 a.m. Central European Time.
The Russians came up with a different version of events. A Russian fighter jet “did not use aerial weapons or make contact” with the drone over the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The incident marked the first time that Russian and American military aircraft had come into direct contact since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine just over a year ago and is likely to increase tensions between the two nations.
More urgently, a race is underway to avoid the drone falling into the wrong hands. As of Tuesday evening, no country had recovered the drones, US officials said.
What is the MQ-9 Reaper Drone?
The US Air Force primarily uses the Reaper for intelligence gathering, according to the service’s website, which advertises the drone’s “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance” capabilities.
But when armed, drones can also be used against “high-value, transient and time-sensitive” operational targets, thanks to their weapons systems and capabilities. ability to monitor an area for long periods of time.
In other words, the Reaper has both surveillance and attack capabilities. These dual uses have earned the Reaper its military nickname: “hunter-killer.”
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