The American MQ-9 drone that crashed in the Black Sea has a high fire potential and is distinguished by impressive reconnaissance characteristics, said military expert, reserve Colonel Andrei Koshkin. In conversation with the "Tape.The expert stressed that this unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has already been used by the United States in other well-known military campaigns.
"The MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (Eng., "Reaper". — approx. "Tapes.ru") is a reconnaissance and strike drone. He was created for the military campaign in Afghanistan, and for the first time he showed himself there. The tactical and technical characteristics for that period, and even today, are quite impressive: the speed is more than 400 kilometers per hour, it rises to 13 thousand meters, it is in the air for 24 hours. It has many varieties, several drones can be controlled by one operator," Koshkin said.
Andrey KoshkinHe also stressed that the MQ-9 UAV is not subject to a number of international agreements.
"Inside the MQ-9 there is a suspension for weapons weighing up to 700 kilograms, in the middle of the wing — up to 250 kilograms, on consoles — up to 100 kilograms. They are equipped with Hellfire air-to—ground missiles - these missiles are used even to destroy important personalities. This was also done in Afghanistan, when they fought with the leaders of Al-Qaeda (a terrorist organization banned in Russia. — approx. "Tapes.<url>"), and in January 2020, when the United States destroyed the general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qasem Suleimani," the military expert added.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that an American MQ-9 UAV crashed in the Black Sea, noting that it flew with its transponders turned off, violated the boundaries of the airspace use area in the Crimea region and was moving towards the state border of Russia.
The Russian fighters raised to intercept did not come into contact with the drone, they did not use weapons. According to the Ministry of Defense, the UAV began to maneuver sharply, lost control and fell into the water. The aircraft of the Aerospace Forces returned safely to the home airfield.
At the same time, the commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, General James Hecker, accused Russia of deliberately destroying the drone. In turn, Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder confirmed that the American drone intercepted over the Black Sea was carrying out a reconnaissance mission.
