No intention of Russian pilots
US suspects incompetence behind drone crash
03/15/2023 10:14 p.m
Moscow has denied Washington’s accusation that Russia was responsible for the crash of a US drone over the Black Sea. However, the US State Department stands by its statement. But now it makes it clear that there was no intention behind the incident, but inability.
According to the US State Department, the crash of an unmanned US surveillance drone over the Black Sea after an encounter with Russian fighter jets was probably not the intention of the pilots. The most plausible explanation is that the incident happened unintentionally, ministry spokesman Ned Price told MSNBC. Presumably one of the Russian pilots is very incompetent.
It is the first such incident since the invasion of Ukraine began. According to the US military, a Russian fighter jet had touched the propeller of the MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace. The drone then crashed into the sea. The Russian military denied this account, saying the drone crashed after “sharp manoeuvres”. The Kremlin put the blame on Washington. “Perhaps those who are not entitled should not have flown there, then everything would have been clean,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Russian state television.
Recovery of the wreck will probably be difficult
Russia wants to recover the wreck. “I don’t know if we can do it or not, but we have to try,” National Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev said on Russian television. He hopes “of course” for a successful rescue. The head of the Russian foreign intelligence service SVR, Sergey Naryshkin, said Russia had the “technical” possibilities to recover the drone. “We have to defend our independence and sovereignty,” Patrushev said of the incident. The use of the drone is further “proof” that the United States is already “involved” in the Ukraine conflict.
The United States says it has video of the incident and is currently considering whether to release it. Referring to the incident, US Chief of Staff Mark Milley said Russia’s military behavior had recently changed, becoming somewhat more aggressive.
The drone was probably broken when it hit the sea surface. It may be in 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,219 to 1,524 meters) of water and difficult to recover, Milley said. After the incident, Russia warned the United States to stay away from its territory. The incident occurred in the airspace near Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia. According to Russian information, the defense ministers of both countries telephoned at American request about the incident.