published by, Saurabh Verma
Last Update: March 16, 2023, 22:10 IST
The United States uses MQ-9s for both surveillance and attack and has long operated over the Black Sea, tracking Russian naval forces. (Photo Credits: Twitter/US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin)
Washington says a Russian Su-27 shot down an MQ-9 that required the drone to be brought down over the Black Sea, while Moscow denies responsibility and accuses the United States of being “hostile” in the region Charged with operating the flights.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday that US aircraft would fly “wherever international law allows” after a Moscow jet allegedly crashed an American drone.
Washington says a Russian Su-27 shot down an MQ-9 that required the drone to be brought down over the Black Sea, while Moscow denies responsibility and accuses the United States of being “hostile” in the region Charged with operating the flights.
“Austin spoke with Shoigu about the recent unprofessional, dangerous and reckless behavior by the Russian Air Force in international airspace over the Black Sea,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
He “emphasized that the United States will continue to fly and operate wherever international law permits.”
Russia confirmed the call and said Washington had initiated it.
The US defense chief also said at a press conference that it was “up to Russia to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner.”
Austin said it was important to maintain communication with Russia after more than a year of the Ukraine war, during which direct contact between top US and Russian defense officials has been rare.
“We take very seriously any potential for escalation of tensions and so I believe it is important to keep the lines of communication open,” he added.
“I think it’s really important that we can pick up the phone and connect with each other. And I think that will help prevent miscounts going forward.”
– Debris ‘no longer of value’ –
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said with Austin that he planned to call his Russian counterpart as well.
The Pentagon is still analyzing video and data from the drone to determine exactly what happened.
“Whether it was intentional or not? Don’t know yet,” Milley said.
But “physical contact with both of them, as for the actual contact of the fixed-wing Russian fighter with our UAV, is not yet certain,” he said, using an acronym for unmanned aerial vehicle.
Moscow said on Wednesday it would try to clear the debris. Milley did not explicitly rule out a US recovery effort, but said it would be difficult to do so.
“We have no naval surface ships in the Black Sea at the moment,” and the drone likely broke up and sank in an area where the water is 4,000–5,000 feet (1,200–1,500 m) deep, he said.
Even though Russia was able to recover the wreckage, the United States took “mitigation measures” to protect sensitive information.
“We’re pretty sure that whatever was of value is no longer of value,” Milley said.
The United States uses MQ-9s for both surveillance and attack and has long operated over the Black Sea, tracking Russian naval forces.
Several drones have been lost in recent years, including one that US Central Command said was shot down over Yemen in 2019 with a surface-to-air missile.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)