US drone downing: Russia will attempt to recover drone fragments

• The massive MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed into the ocean.
• Moscow was attempting to locate the aircraft.
• “I don’t know whether we’ll be able to retrieve it or not but it has to be done,” Mr. Patrushev said.

Russia announced on Wednesday that it will attempt to recover the remains of an American drone that had crashed into the Black Sea.

On Tuesday, the massive MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed into the ocean.

The US said it brought down the damaged drone after it became “unflyable” after a Russian plane clipped its propeller, but Moscow denies this.

Russian security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev stated on state television that Moscow was attempting to locate the aircraft.

“I don’t know whether we’ll be able to retrieve it or not but it has to be done,” Mr. Patrushev said.

A confirmation of War

He also said that the drone’s presence in the Black Sea was “confirmation” that the US was directly involved in the war.

Top Washington official John Kirby said the US was also seeking for the aircraft, but warned that if Russia beat them to it, “their potential to use relevant intelligence will be significantly reduced”.

General Mark Milley, America’s top military commander, emphasized that the US has taken “mitigating measures” to guarantee there was nothing of value aboard the downed drone.

He predicted that retrieving the drone would be difficult, adding that the water where it crashed was anywhere between 4,000ft and 5,000ft (1,200m to 1,500m) deep.

According to US military officials, the incident occurred on Tuesday morning and lasted approximately 30-40 minutes.

The Pentagon said in a statement that Russian jets poured gasoline on the drone several times prior to the crash.

According to Pentagon spokesman Brig Gen Pat Ryder, the drone was “unflyable and uncontrollable,” and the crash likely destroyed the Russian aircraft as well.

Russia has denied any touch between its two Su-27 fighter jets and the US drone.

Sharp maneuver

The drone fell after a “sharp maneuver,” according to Russia’s defense ministry, and it was flying with its transponders (communication devices) turned off.

Lloyd Austin, the US Defense Secretary, revealed he met with his Russian colleague, Sergei Shoigu, the day after the drone was shot down.

Russia’s defense ministry blamed the event on “increasing reconnaissance actions against the interests of the Russian Federation” in a statement made following the phone contact. It also branded US drone missions off the coast of Crimea “provocative”.

The United States and the United Kingdom have historically gone to extreme lengths to recover their technology following catastrophes.

They recovered the wreckage of their F-35 stealth fighter plane after it sank in the South China Sea.

On the surface, the Military appears to be less concerned by the loss of a Reaper drone. It’s older technology, and many have been lost in the past.

And attempting to recover a downed drone in deep waters near a war zone, with Russian ships and submarines patrolling, may pose even greater risks of escalation.

Since Russia’s annexation of nearby Crimea in 2014, tensions have risen over the Black Sea.

Increase in surveillance flights

During Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom have increased surveillance flights, always flying in international airspace.

The missing Reaper may have carried a surveillance pod capable of absorbing electronic data such as radar waves.

The US Department of Defense said in a news release that the surveillance trips are designed to acquire information that helps strengthen security for Europe and aids “allied partners”.

The US is said to have already shared intelligence with Ukraine, including assistance in sinking a Russian ship in the Black Sea.

According to Ukraine’s foreign minister, occurrences like the downing of an American drone over the Black Sea are unavoidable until Russia departs Crimea.

It is described as “As long as Russia holds Crimea, these types of incidents will be unavoidable, and the Black Sea will not be a safe place,” Dmytro Kuleba warned.

Although Russia took Crimea in 2014, the vast majority of countries still consider it to be part of Ukraine.

The sources questioned Mr. Kuleba if the US and its allies would be more careful in the aftermath of the drone disaster.

“If the West wants to demonstrate its weakness, it should certainly demonstrate its cautiousness after an incident like this, but I don’t have a feeling that this is the mood in capitals,” he replied.

US MILITARY VOWED

“The mood is not to escalate but nor is the mood to lean under the pressure – the physical or rhetorical pressure – of Russia.”

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed the military would “continue to fly and operate” wherever international law allows.”

After being asked to confer with officials in Washington, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov stated that the drone incident was viewed as a “provocation” by Moscow.

From the Kremlin’s point of view, Mr. Antonov added: “The unacceptable activity of the US military in the close proximity to our borders is a cause for concern.”

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, there has been no high-level interaction between Moscow and Washington regarding the event.

He did, however, state that Russia would never refuse to engage in meaningful conversation.

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