MQ-9 Reaper "Evil Bird" unmanned aerial vehicle - the main UAV in the US military (Photo: Oryx).
Risk of a miscalculation?
In a statement released on March 14, the US Air Force accused Russian Su-27 fighters of "unprofessional actions", causing a collision and causing an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of this country to fall into the Black Sea.
"Several times before the collision, the Russian Su-27 fighters dumped fuel and flew in front of the MQ-9 UAV in a careless, inappropriate, and unprofessional manner," General James B. Hecker, Commander of US Air Forces in Europe and Africa, confirmed, adding that the Russian pilots attempted to disrupt the routine patrol of the US UAV.
Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, revealed that Russian Su-27 fighters had been following the MQ-9 Reaper UAV at close range for about an hour and a half before the collision occurred.
The collision has caused observers to express concern that tensions between Russia and the US will escalate in the region.
The location of the incident is also very close to the Ukrainian war zone, where Moscow has repeatedly accused the US of engaging in a "proxy war" with Russia by supplying weapons to Kiev. According to some sources, Russia sent two Su-27 fighters to intercept the US UAV to prevent this aircraft from gathering intelligence about the situation in the Black Sea and sending it to Ukraine.
Maintaining military operations in a sensitive maritime area during a war is believed to lead to miscalculations that escalate tensions on both sides. If left unchecked, incidents like the one in the Black Sea could very well push the two superpowers into direct conflict in Europe.
On the Russian side, the country's Defense Ministry later denied the US accusations. According to Moscow, the MQ-9 Reaper UAV crashed into the sea because the US pilot lost control. Russia also affirmed that its aircraft "did not use weapons or approach the US UAV". In addition, Russia accused the US UAV of "moving closer to the border of the Russian Federation".
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said the incident on March 14 was "an act of aggression". However, Mr. Antonov affirmed that "Russia would not want a direct confrontation with the US".
Immediately after the MQ-9 UAV crashed, the US military began a race against time to recover this drone. The MQ-9 Reaper UAV is one of the most modern and important UAVs in the US military. Therefore, letting military secrets from this drone fall into the hands of the enemy is something that Washington does not want.
"As far as I know, at this point, the Russian side has not been able to recover the crashed UAV," Brigadier General Ryder told reporters on the afternoon of March 14 local time.
On the same day, White House spokesman John Kirby affirmed that the incident would not affect US operational plans in the Black Sea.
"The US will continue to operate in international airspace and waters. The Black Sea is not the exclusive domain of any country," Mr. Kirby emphasized.
MQ-9 Reaper "Evil Bird" - America's main UAV
The MQ-9 Reaper is one of the main unmanned combat aircraft of the US military. Designed and manufactured by contractor General Atomics, this UAV was first introduced in 2001 and put into use since 2007.
US MQ-9 Reaper UAV on a combat mission (Photo: US Air Force).
With a length of 11m, a wingspan of 20m and a height of 3.6m, the MQ-9 Reaper can take off with a maximum payload of nearly 1.5 tons and fly continuously for 14 hours or nearly 2,000km.
The MQ-9 Reaper UAV is typically operated by two pilots from a ground command post. These two pilots will take turns controlling the aircraft's systems and combat or intelligence-gathering equipment.
This type of UAV is often used in reconnaissance missions and attacking targets with high-precision weapons. Currently, the MQ-9 Reaper is equipped with powerful weapons such as AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank guided missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, GBU-38 JDAM smart bombs as well as AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.
In the Black Sea region, MQ-9 Reaper UAVs are often used to collect intelligence on Russian Navy operations. The unit price of one UAV of this type at the present time is about 32 million USD. According to some sources, the US military currently owns and operates about 300 MQ-9 Reaper UAVs in different versions.
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