The US State Department summoned the Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov regarding the incident in the Black Sea. This was reported by Reuters, citing State Department spokesperson Ned Price.
“We are looking for the Russian ambassador, we expect a meeting later today,” he said.
As Antonov later reported, he met with Karen Donfeed, assistant to the head of the State Department, Anthony Blinken. The question of “results” for Russia was not raised. The ambassador told reporters that Moscow considers the downing of the drone a provocation. According to him, Russia does not want to confront the USA. Antonov assured that the Russian fighters did not use weapons during the incident.
The US European Command said on March 14 that earlier two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted an American MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the Black Sea skies.
According to Washington’s position, one of the planes “hit the propeller of the drone”, after which the US military had to sink the drone into the sea.
According to EUCOM commander, US Air Force General James Gekker, the drone was “conducting normal operations when it was intercepted and struck by a Russian aircraft.” Gekker described the actions of the Russian pilots as “unsafe”.
US President Joe Biden was informed of the incident.
“It is not unusual for American aircraft to be intercepted by Russian aircraft over the Black Sea. But this case clearly deserves attention because of how unsafe and unprofessional everything was done,” White House spokesman John Kirby said in a briefing.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied the US allegations. According to the statement of the Russian military department, the drone flew “with the transponders turned off and in violation of the boundaries of the transitional regime zone to use the airspace established for the purpose of conducting a special military operation”. operation. [на Украине]”.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also claims to have previously reported the establishment of this temporary no-fly zone. The circle’s position is that the Russian Su-27s, which were lifted to intercept the target, “do not use airborne weapons, do not come into contact with the UAVs and return safely to the main airfield”.
In a statement made by the press service of the Ministry of National Defense, it was said, “As a result of the sharp maneuver made at around 09:30 Moscow time, the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into an uncontrolled flight, losing altitude and crashing into the water surface.” expression.
The MQ-9 Reaper attacker can reach speeds of over 400 km/h with up to 24 hours of autonomous flight time. It can also be armed with a dozen Hellfire air-to-ground missiles. The purchase price of an MQ-9 Reaper unit for the US Air Force from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (a division of General Dynamics Corporation) as of 2021 was $56.5 million. For comparison, the cost of a Su-27 in the world market is about 30-$35 million.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said during a briefing that an American drone was flying in for reconnaissance.
“Deputies of the Ministry of Defense did not directly communicate with the Russian authorities regarding this particular incident. As for the missions of the MQ-9, it was engaged in reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance,” said Ryder.
A Pentagon spokesman said he would “not go into details” in response to a question about the presence of weapons on the drone in question.
Ryder declined to reveal whether the US plans to lift the MQ-9 Reaper from the bottom, but he believes the Russian Black Sea Fleet has not yet received parts of the drone.
“As far as I know, the Russians have not lifted this plane at the moment. But again, regarding our attempts to bring it up, I have no new information now. I would refer you to the US Navy regarding what they have in this area,” said Ryder.
He also declined to answer whether there was classified intelligence equipment on the drone that could fall into the hands of the Russian military.
Su-27 against a scout
On January 29, 2018, a Su-27 intercepted an American EP-3E Aries reconnaissance aircraft near Yalta. The fighter jet captured the American apparatus and showed it to the rocket crews, Russian media reported.
The Pentagon described the operation as “an extreme example of the disregard for Russian military international agreements and norms” and urged Moscow to “stop these unsafe acts that increase the risk of miscalculation and pose a threat to aircrew and collisions on both sides”. In the air.”
In turn, the Russian military department assured that the maneuvers of the Su-27 are standard, absolutely legal and completely safe for an American reconnaissance aircraft. The ministry also said, “Awareness of this fact for American pilots”. [перехвата] it is the cause of depression and phobias”, followed by “in the future, routes of such flights near the Russian borders should be excluded or returned to the negotiating table and the rules for their implementation should be agreed”. In response, the Pentagon said it would continue to fly off the coast of Russia, arguing that “the Black Sea is international airspace.”