Russian Su-27 firefighter jet involved in the incident with a US spy drone recklessly flying into Ukraine war conflict zone. Photo: Pentagon edited video footage.
The Russian Federation has announced that it will present state awards to the fighter pilots of a Su-27 aircraft who scrambled to identify a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that was conducting reconnaissance activity over the Black Sea. The Russian pilots’ maneuvers forced the drone to go into uncontrolled flight and finally fall into the Black Sea.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu “has put forward for state awards the pilots of the Su-27 aircraft who prevented the US MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle from violating the restricted flight zone established by Moscow” amid the Ukraine conflict, the Russian Defense Ministry announced in a statement on Friday, March 17.
Minister Shoigu has stated that during the maneuvers, the Russian pilots complied with established international standards.
Russian navy divers have recovered most of the drone, including sensitive memory cards, from a depth of about 1000 meters at an unspecified location in the Black Sea, with the help of special navy submarines.
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On Tuesday, March 14, the Pentagon claimed that two Russian jets had dumped fuel on a MQ-9 Reaper drone, and one of the jets later collided with the drone and damaged its propeller, causing it to fall into the Black Sea. Pentagon accused Russia of “unsafe and unprofessional” actions.
The Russian Defense Ministry, however, dismissed this accusation, and stated that the Su-27s never came in contact with the Reaper, nor did it fire a weapon. The ministry explained that the US drone was flying with its transponders turned off, violated the restricted area, and crashed after “going into uncontrolled flight” as a result of “sharp maneuvers.” Defense Minister Shoigu insisted that the incident occurred due to US refusal to comply with the restricted flight zone and its efforts “to ramp up reconnaissance activities against the interests of the Russian Federation.”
Many analysts agree that the US government and military are behaving recklessly to provoke a legitimate defense response from Russia in a conflict that is already at a very high risk of escalation.
The Russian fighter jets were heavily loaded with missiles and their move to disuade the US drone to change course was the least aggressive move from a country in a war zone, according to many experts. Meanwhile in the US, just a few weeks ago, there was widespread histeria from the highest levels of government and the mainstream media over a small Chinese weather balloon that had drifted into the US airspace. The balloon was shot down by the US military with missiles.
Currently, Russia has radar stations, equipped with state-of-the-art military technology, able to detect targets 3,000 kilometers away. In 2020, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the detection of 30 US spy planes near the Russian border.
Even after the drone incident, the United States sent another aircraft to the area. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin insisted that Washington would “continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows.” US military reconnaissance flights providing intelligence to the Ukrainian forces continue, making it very clear that the US is a party in the conflict.
(RedRadioVE) by Yucsealis Rincón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
