The Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General Vladimir Popov, stressed that Russian UAVs "do not fly in the Atlantic or in the Pacific Ocean near the exclusive economic zone of the United States"MOSCOW, March 15.
/tass/. The aircraft of the Russian Military Space Forces (VKS) were obliged to identify the American MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea, as it violated the borders of the exclusive economic zone of Russia. This opinion was expressed by the Honored Military Pilot of Russia, Major General Vladimir Popov.
"When in such a zone (the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation - approx. TASS) a drone passes, especially without identification marks, we are obliged to identify it as an aerial target," he said.
According to the expert, the length of the MQ-9 is approximately 11 m, comparable to an airplane, and it is very difficult to immediately determine what class an air object is flying. "We should not assume a priori whether it is a scout flying or something else, we had to make sure. <...> If it seemed to us that he was heading towards our borders, and we want to prevent this, we passed near him, making it clear that he could violate our sovereign space," Popov said.
The Major General added that there is an unwritten rule when, upon entering the exclusive economic zone, they notify about their intentions in advance. "It would be right, but, unfortunately, over the past 8-10 years, the West and the United States have moved away from these rules. I note that our drones do not fly in the Atlantic or in the Pacific Ocean near the exclusive economic zone of the United States," the expert said.
According to Popov, the American side will deny its guilt in this incident. "I would see how the Americans would react if our strategic drones were suddenly in the exclusive economic zone of Alaska or the Pacific coast of the United States. They would have just shot them down with a missile, as they did earlier with China's probes," Popov concluded.
Statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
As stated by the Russian military department, the VKS controls recorded the flight of an American MQ-9 drone in the area of the Crimean Peninsula on the morning of March 14. According to the Ministry, the flight was carried out with the transponders turned off "in violation of the boundaries of the area of the temporary regime for the use of airspace established for the purpose of conducting a special military operation, communicated to all users of international airspace and published in accordance with international standards."
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation added that the drone, as a result of sharp maneuvering, went into an uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface. The Russian fighters did not use airborne weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to the home airfield.
According to the European Command of the US Armed Forces, one of the two Russian Su-27 aircraft hit the propeller of an American drone, which led to its crash in the waters of the Black Sea. It was noted that US President Joe Biden was informed about the incident, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov was summoned to the State Department.
The MQ-9 Reaper is a modular reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. It is equipped with a turboprop engine, allowing speeds of more than 400 km/h. The maximum duration of the flight is 24 hours. It is capable of carrying air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles, as well as laser-guided bombs.
