KYIV: The Pentagon has released footage of a Russian aircraft unsafely intercepting a US Air Force surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea. The Pentagon said the 42-second video released on Thursday showed a Russian Su-27 approaching the rear of the MQ-9 drone and starting to release fuel as it passed.
The US military said it shot down an MQ-9 Reaper into the sea on Tuesday after Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle, in an apparent attempt to blind its optical instruments and drive it out of the area , and then hit it. propeller. The released excerpt does not show events before or after the apparent fuel-dumping collision.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley have spoken to their Russian counterparts about the destruction of a US drone following an encounter with Russian fighter jets.
Video: two #Russian Su-27s made an unsafe and unprofessional interception with w/a @us Air Force Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 operating with international airspace #Black Sea 14 March. https://t.co/gMbKYNtIeQ @HQUSAFEAFAF @DeptofDefense @NATO pic.twitter.com/LB3BzqkBpY– US European Command (@US_EUCOM) March 16, 2023
The call took place on Wednesday for the first time since October with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian General Staff Chief General Valery Gerasimov.
While interception attempts are not unusual, the incident amid the war in Ukraine has raised concerns that it could bring the United States and Russia closer to direct conflict.
Top defense and military leaders of both countries talking soon after the encounter on the Black Sea underlines its seriousness.
https://t.co/9eQwvOWuE0— haraldkrsichner (@haraldkrsichner) March 16, 2023
In its report of the call with Austin, the Russian Defense Ministry said Shoigu accused the US of provoking the incident by ignoring flight restrictions imposed by the Kremlin because of its military operations in Ukraine.
Russia also blamed ‘intensification of intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation’.
Such US actions are fraught with ‘aggravation of the situation in the Black Sea region,? The Defense Ministry warned that Russia would ‘respond to all provocations’.