After drone incident: US finds difficult to gather intelligence near special operations zone CNN: US intelligence capabilities over the Black Sea deteriorate after MQ-9 Reaper drone crash

After the incident with the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle in the Black Sea, the USA had to change the routes of the unmanned aerial vehicles in this region. This, in turn, limited the ability of the United States to gather intelligence related to the special operation in Ukraine. In this respect writer CNN cites a top Pentagon source.

Another unnamed US official said the White House was trying to avoid events that could escalate into direct conflict with Moscow by rerouting drone flights. He said long-distance drone flights will continue “for a while”, although there is an “appetite” to return to routes close to Russian territory.

According to the TV channel, the US will continue to operate in international airspace, but they will pass at a distance of 64 km from the Ukrainian border, not 19 km as before the crash of the MQ-9 Reaper.

Earlier, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not respond to a hearing in the US Congress Senate Armed Forces Committee on scheduled drone flights over the Black Sea.

The incident with an American drone took place on the morning of March 14 near the Crimean peninsula. The MQ-9 Reaper was flying towards Russia with the transponder turned off. At the same time, it violated the boundaries of the temporary regime zone for the use of the airspace established for special operations.

After the Russian Armed Forces discovered the unmanned aerial vehicle, Russian fighters in the air defense forces took off. The Ministry of National Defense noted that the drone lost control and fell into the water due to a sharp maneuver.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the Russian warplanes accompanying it did not come into contact with the MQ-9, did not use weapons and returned safely to the base airspace. The pilots were presented for the award. Sergei Shoigu, head of the Russian Ministry of Defense, presented them with the Order of Courage.

The USA has a different version. The US military claims that two Russian Su-27s intercepted the MQ-9s in dangerous rendezvous maneuvers. Washington is confident that the drone crashed because it crashed into the propeller of one of the warplanes.

Russia has also been accused of being environmentally friendly for allegedly dumping fuel on a drone and crashing into the Black Sea. “Maybe it was not necessary to fly there, who should not fly? Then everything would be environmentally friendly,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rostec said that the wreckage of the American MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone is of interest to Russian defense industry experts.

“Any finds in this layout should be dismantled and examined down to the last bolt,” the state company told TASS, emphasizing that all seized equipment was carefully examined.

The United States claims that Russia will not obtain any valuable information by examining the wreckage of the device. This was stated by Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder two days after the emergency.

“First, without going into details, I will say that we have taken steps to protect the information on the ship, and second, the remains are at a tremendous depth.”