The Russian army admitted that two of its hunters intercepted an American drone in the Black Sea on Tuesday, but assured that they neither hit it nor made it fall, contrary to what Washington announced.
“As a result of a brutal maneuver (…) the MQ-9 drone began an uncontrolled flight with loss of altitude and hit the surface of the water,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, specifying that the two fighters had not fired and did not had had “contact” with the drone.
“Our MQ-9 drone was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and rammed by a Russian aircraft, leading to the crash and loss of the MQ-9,” General James Hecker, commander of the US Air Force, said earlier. US air forces in Europe.
It is the first time since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory on February 24, 2022 that a NATO country, supported by Ukraine, has acknowledged losing self-operated equipment in this highly flammable region.
“This is a dangerous and unprofessional act on the part of the Russians,” the senior official said, adding that “US and allied drones will continue to operate in international airspace,” and called on the Russians to “behave professionally.” .
“Aggressive actions by Russian crews could lead to miscalculations and inadvertent escalation,” the US military insisted in the same statement.
The collision appears to have taken place in the airspace off the Ukrainian city of Odessa, according to the US Naval Institute. According to the FlightRadar24 website, a P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft was circling off the coast of Romania after takeoff from Sigonella airbase, Italy.
A White House spokesman, John Kirby, denounced a “reckless act” by the Russians, noting that there have been interceptions of US drones by Russian planes in the past, but that this incident was “unique” in the sense of which resulted in the loss of the reaper.
Source: BFM TV
