The downing of a US espionage drone in the Black Sea has once again produced a quarrel between the US and Russia, with both governments presenting differing stories of the occurrence. The US said on Tuesday that a Russian Su-27 fighter struck one of its MQ-9 ‘Reaper’ intelligence and surveillance drones.
According to James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, the Su-27s repeatedly flew in front of the MQ-9 and dropped fuel on it while doing so. He also criticised the Su-27s for their careless, environmentally harmful, and unprofessional behaviour.
Russia has asserted that the MQ-9 drone was not fuelled, nevertheless. It stated that it was flying close to Crimea and moving towards areas that Russia claims as its own.
‘As a result of sharp manoeuvring around 9.30 Moscow time, the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into an uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collapsed in the water,’ Russia’s defence ministry said.
Moscow added that since the transponders of the drone had been turned off, fighters were scrambled to identify it.
‘Russian fighters did not use airborne weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to the home airfield.’
Now, Russia’s ambassador to the United States has spoken on the matter and, on Wednesday, called on Washington to stop ‘hostile’ flights near his country’s border.
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