MOSCOW, March 16 — RIA Novosti, David Narmania. Americans fear for the fate of the MQ-9 Reaper drone ("Reaper"), which crashed into the Black Sea: military technology may fall "into the wrong hands." In addition, the Pentagon is likely to reconsider tactics in the region. And this, in turn, threatens trouble for Washington's allies. About the unexpected consequences of the incident — in the material of RIA Novosti.
"Actions dangerous to the environment"
According to the US military, two fighter jets intercepted UAVs in international airspace. One of the planes at 9:03 (Moscow time) allegedly touched the MQ-9 propeller, which caused the drone to be flooded in neutral waters. "Several times before the collision, the Su-27 drained fuel and flew in a reckless, dangerous to the environment and unprofessional manner," the Pentagon said.
The CBS TV channel presented a simulated version of the drone crash.
The video from the drone's cameras was promised to be published after declassification.
The Russian version is different. The Ministry of Defense emphasizes: the UAV was moving with the transponders turned off. And besides, he got into a restricted area for flights.
"In order to identify the violator, fighters from the air defense forces on duty were lifted into the air. As a result of sharp maneuvering around 9:30 (Moscow time), the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle 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," the ministry said.
Not a reason for war
Immediately after the incident over the Black Sea, the Russian ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov was summoned to the State Department and protested. The diplomat called the incident a provocation by the United States and called for stopping flights near the borders of Russia.
Analysts are convinced that in the future the Americans will act more carefully. "This will affect the piloting programs — they will not send drones so close to us anymore. The Americans have a Global Hawk, which is capable of conducting reconnaissance, being further from our borders. Unlike the Reaper," explains military expert Alexey Leonkov. — Who knew about his true plans: what if he was going to strike Sevastopol at all? If this happens again, it may have to be shot down by our air defense forces in the Crimea. At such a range, it will be taken out by the Buk-M2 or Buk-M3 air defense systems.
Buk-M2 anti-aircraft missile system Image source: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Kudenko
According to the expert, the incident cannot be qualified as a reason for declaring war. But the American analyst Stephen Collinson, in an article for CNN, claims that Ukraine will suffer from the incident.
The incident, he believes, will become an argument for Republicans who criticize the assistance to Kiev. They have repeatedly claimed that the supply of weapons brings the Third World War closer and threatens the national security of the United States.
They began to act more cautiously
And if theoretically possible changes in Washington's foreign policy will take time, then the behavior of the military over the Black Sea has already changed.
Immediately after the incident, a UH-60M Black Hawk transport helicopter and a Boeing P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft were lifted from airfields in Europe. They headed for the MQ-9 crash zone, but none left Romanian airspace.
Two more "Black Hawks" patrolled the Black Sea coast the next day, also without leaving the country's borders.
Sikorsky UH-60 Image Source: © Photo : DVIDSHUB
It is noteworthy that American drones play an important role in ensuring the combat capability of the Armed Forces. It is they who, along with satellites, collect intelligence about Russian troops. Drones circled in the air during all the resonant actions of Kiev — from the strike on the cruiser "Moscow" to the attacks on Sevastopol.
At the same time, US activity in the Black Sea area has been noticeable for a long time — at least since 2014. The equipment allows the MQ-9 to stay in the air for nine to ten hours, the RQ-4 Global Hawk can fly up to a day and a half. Washington uses them for reconnaissance along the entire southern coast of Russia — from the Crimea to the Krasnodar Territory. And since last February, he has been actively sharing information with Kiev.
For combat and reconnaissance
"Reaper" is one of the most "running" reconnaissance and strike drones. He joined the army in the mid-noughties.
The cost of each such UAV reaches 56.5 million dollars — together with ground control stations. Various types of weapons can be hung on it.
At the same time, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder at a briefing after the incident refused to answer whether this particular device was armed. And he assured that the equipment was used for intelligence purposes. Similarly, with reference to "high-ranking officials", The New York Times and the CBS TV channel spoke out. However, the latter modeled a version of events, depicting a UAV with GBU-12 bombs on a suspension.
The Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and cannon complex (ZRPC) at the field airfield of the Russian Aerospace Forces Image source: © RIA Novosti
The history of the combat use of "Reapers" is rich. The most high—profile event was an airstrike on Baghdad International Airport in January 2020, which killed the commander of a special unit in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qasem Suleimani. In a similar way, the drone was used in neighboring Syria.
"Reapers" also flew over Libya. As the media wrote, in 2019, one of the drones was shot down by the calculation of the Russian "Shell-C1". The American authorities, however, did not mention this.
And now the Pentagon says that "nothing has changed" — American planes will continue to operate wherever "international law allows." However, the military faces a much more urgent task: to find the wreckage. Or make sure that they do not get to the opponents.
According to the secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Russia is already looking for the fallen "Reaper". Previously, only remnants fell into the hands of our military. Now there is a unique opportunity to study an almost intact specimen.
