US Department of Defense European Command published video of an American MQ-9 Reaper drone and a Russian Su-27 fighter jet over the Black Sea.
The 42-second video shows the fighter jet maneuvering past the drone twice, dropping fuel. After the plane’s second approach, the video cuts out.
The description of the shoot notes that “the length of the declassified video has been changed, but the events are shown in sequential order.”
According to the storyboard son The Pentagon, after the Su-27 flew over the drone, the work of the cameras installed on the MQ-9 was interrupted for a while.
What do we know about the fate of the drone
The day before, on March 15, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said that Russian specialists would take over the recovery of the fallen MQ-9 Reaper, and expressed hope for the success of the operation.
John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council, meanwhile doubted the drone could be detected because it fell in a “very deep” place in the Black Sea. Kirby also noted that the United States has tried to minimize the risk of drone data falling into the wrong hands.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the MQ-9 is located at a depth of about a mile and a half and it will be “very difficult” to obtain. At the same time, he admitted that the United States would be engaged in the detection of the drone with the help of allied ships which are in the region.
March 16 ABC News informed citing sources that on the day the drone crashed, Russian ships were seen in the area where it crashed. One of the channel’s interlocutors suggested that the Russian military had already been able to recover the wreckage of the drone.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, responding to a question about the fate of the MQ-9 Reaper, said he was unaware of the Russian military’s plans.
“If they think it (raising the remains of the drone) is necessary for our interests and our security in the Black Sea, they will do it,” he added. son The words of Peskov telegram the radio “Mayak”.
MQ-9 Reaper crash
The incident with the MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea occurred on March 14. The US Department of Defense said two Russian Su-27 fighter jets damaged the propeller of a reconnaissance drone during a “dangerous and unprofessional interception”. After that, the drone must have been flooded in international waters, the Pentagon said.
The Russian Defense Ministry says the fighters did not come into contact with the MQ-9. According to the agency, the drone made a sudden maneuver and lost control, after which it fell into the water.
After the incident, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had a phone conversation during which they exchanged views on the drone crash.
