Russia pilots reckless in drone collision, says United State

• The US has accused Russia of acting recklessly after a collision.
• Which caused it to crash into the Black Sea.
• The US will need to assess its reaction to the downing of a drone over the Black Sea.

Following a collision between an American drone and Russian fighter jets, which caused it to crash into the Black Sea, the United State has accused Moscow of acting recklessly.

According to the Pentagon, the drone was flying in international airspace when Russian jets are believed to have dropped fuel into its path.

The MQ-9 Reaper drone that had been damaged was shot down by the US after it was deemed “unflyable,” according to the Military.

Russia claims that there was no touch between its two Su-27 fighter planes.

The main issue is whether the encounter was simply an effort by Russia to obstruct the US drone’s operations or whether it was a calculated attempt to bring it down.

According to US military officials, the incident took place on Tuesday at around 07:03 Central European Time (06:03 GMT), and the altercation lasted between 30 and 40 minutes.

Several times before the collision, the fighter jets dumped fuel on the drone in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner”, it said in a statement.

Pentagon spokesman Brig Gen Pat Ryder told reporters the drone was “unflyable and uncontrollable so we brought it down”, adding that the collision also likely damaged the Russian aircraft.

After the event, the planes, according to him, were able to land.

With a 20-meter (66-foot) wingspan, Reaper drones are surveillance aircraft.

According to Brig Gen Ryder, to his knowledge, the Russians had not found the drone.

“Without getting into too much detail, what I can say is that we’ve taken steps to safeguard our interests with respect to that particular drone,” John Kirby of the National Security Council of the United States told Media.

The drone, which was flying with its transponders disabled, crashed after making a “sharp maneuver,” according to the Russian defense ministry. Transponders are communication tools that make it possible to track an aero plane.

The collision was “very definitely an accident,” according to King’s College visiting professor of war studies Prof. Michael Clarke.

The ex-director general of the defense and security think tank Royal United Services Institute said: “I don’t believe any pilot could deliberately do that [only colliding with another aircraft’s propeller] without seriously endangering their aircraft and own life.”

The episode brings to light the growing possibility of a direct conflict between Russia and the US over the situation in Ukraine.

The US called Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador, to Washington to express opposition to the action.

Following the discussion, Russian state media quoted Mr. Antonov as saying that Moscow considered the drone incident as “a provocation” and that “the unacceptable behavior of the US military in the near proximity to our borders is a matter for concern”.

Reporters were informed on Wednesday by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov that Moscow and Washington had not had any high-level discussions regarding the event.

Yet, he asserted that Russia would always be open to constructive discussion.

Ever since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, tensions over the Black Sea have increased.

With Russia’s complete invasion of Ukraine last year, the US and the UK increased their reconnaissance and surveillance flights while always flying in international territory.

In their interactions with ally aircraft in the area, Russian pilots have allegedly displayed a “pattern of risky actions,” according to the US.

As a result, it is conceivable that the downing of the drone was caused by a Russian pilot who accidentally approached it too closely while “buzzing” it.

But, analysts claim that if this was a planned strike on a US aircraft by a Russian warplane, it would be a significant provocation and escalation.

The Kremlin’s attempt to gauge the American response would then be interpreted as the motivation behind the strike.

To prevent the conflict in Ukraine from turning into a direct conflict with Russia, Western allies have put in a lot of effort. Yet, that is all this occurrence over the Black Sea is. The US will now need to assess its reaction.

This was a risky action that “may lead to misunderstanding and unintended escalation,” as US military officers cautioned in their statement.

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