“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” said Gen. James B. Hecker, a senior military official overseeing Air Force operations in the region. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”
It was not immediately clear where over the Black Sea the incident occurred or what mission the drone was conducting. U.S. military officials also did not immediately specify what other recent actions by Russian pilots fit into the pattern of dangerous activity that they described.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied striking the MQ-9 and claimed instead that, “as a result of sharp maneuvering,” the drone was observed by Russian pilots in “uncontrolled flight” before losing altitude and crashing into the sea. Jets were scrambled, officials said in a statement, when the American aircraft was detected flying “in the direction of the state border of the Russian Federation” with its transponders turned off,” what they characterized as a violation of boundaries established by Moscow for its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“The Russian fighters did not use airborne weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to their base airfield,” the statement says.
A State Department spokesman, Ned Price, told reporters that senior U.S. officials would be in contact with their Russian counterparts to communicate “our strong objections.”
“We are summoning the Russian ambassador to the department where we will convey this message,” Price said, adding that, in Moscow, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne M. Tracy, had relayed the Biden administration’s dissatisfaction to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Primary function: Intelligence collection
in support of strike, coordination
and reconnaissance missions.
Crew (remote): Two (pilot and sensor operator)
Ceiling: Up to 50,000 feet
Note: Data current as of March 2021
Primary function: Intelligence collection in support of strike, coordination
and reconnaissance missions.
Ceiling: Up to 50,000 feet
Crew (remote): Two (pilot and sensor operator)
Note: Data current as of March 2021
White House spokesman John Kirby said that President Biden was briefed about the incident on Tuesday morning by national security adviser Jake Sullivan. While intercepts of aircraft happen with some frequency, Kirby said, “this one, obviously, is noteworthy because of how unsafe [and] indeed reckless” the Su-27s were “in causing the downing of one of our aircraft.”
U.S. and Russian militaries set up years ago a phone line for the “deconfliction” of air operations to avoid collisions and other incidents that could potentially prompt a crisis. Kirby said the Black Sea is “an enormous body of water,” and U.S. aircraft have been flying in international airspace there “consistently” for a year.
“We’re going to continue to do that,” Kirby said. “And we don’t need to have some sort of check-in with the Russians before we fly in international airspace.”
