Air incident near Moscow
The Pentagon declined to reveal whether the plane was armed with a weapon
MQ-9 harvester drone The United States was shot this Tuesday after an incident with two Russian SU-27 fighters in Pontus opened a number of still unexplained mysteries. One of them is why the US drone did not respond to the challenges that the US said were made by intercepting Russian pilots. When the information is available, it is difficult to answer. for the speaker PentagonPatrick Ryder refuses to answer whether the drone was armed at the time.
The MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle that performs aerial surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but it can also be used. AIM-9X air-to-air missiles for combat and other situations. In 2020, the United States used a drone to assassinate Iranian military leader Qasem Suleimani.
According to the military media, the US State Department is examining whether the images of the incident leak, which will be the main information to decide if Russia is right when it claims that its planes do not threaten maneuvers against the Reaper. Moscow blamed the US for sending and American drones from . he argued “sharp run” before crashing into an SU-27 fighter jet. Russian authorities also noted that the harvester had turned off its transponder, making it difficult to track.
In those things that only come together Washington as Moscow is that the harvester fell into the water near the Chersonesus, where Russia has the headquarters of its southern naval fleet. According to US authorities, Russian fighters flew in front of the drone to unload fuel from its storage tank and then cut off the drone’s propeller approaching the tail of the drone. Pentagon controllers who were remotely piloting the aircraft decided to launch it into the sea when it was discovered in the workplace it was insurmountable. “Because of the damage we were forced to collapse it” Black SeaGeneral Ryder told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday afternoon. “It was unflyable and powerless so I dropped it“.
Another question worrying many analysts is the US response to this incident. Will the Pentagon retaliate against Russian forces to implement the downing of one of its advanced drones? Kyle Mizokami, a military analyst at Popular Mechanics, rules this option because he believes that the approach maneuver of the Russian planes did not endanger the lives of the American pilots because it was completely unmanned. According to George Beebe of the Quincy Institute, this situation is unlikely to turn into a major crisis, but he emphasizes “We are walking on the edge of direct military confrontation between the United States and Russia“.
Where are the remains of the MQ-9 Reaper?
The third question that emerges from the incident is whether the US will try to recover The wreckage of an MQ-9 harvester scattered in Pontus. This drone technology could provide Russia with valuable American military information. So far, the Moscow part of the drone has not recovered anything, General Ryder explained. The United States is constantly flying over the Euxine Bridge and will continue to do so, according to a Pentagon spokesman, so it is likely that Messer will try to locate parts in the water.
The history of interception of enemy aircraft is very long, however This is the first time a Russian aircraft has shot down an American plane since the end of the Cold War. He understands the importance of what was said in the US “calculation of errors” between rival powers, unplanned missions that trigger tension and move into open conflict, which is not desired by either side.
Mizokami highlights several air fights in recent years. Washington accused Russia in 2018 of fighting Su-27 safely when intercepting a intelligence aircraft EP-3 Aries II. In 2021, a similar event occurred with three French airplanes against a Russian fighter. In 2014, the US lamented the interception of three Russian P-8 Neptune seaplanes by a “professional” over the Pontic Sea. In October 2022, the Su-27 weapon near a . lit up RC-135 Joint Rivet aircraft of the Royal Air Force.
