U.S. European Command has released video footage of the Russian fighter jets that recently harassed an American drone over the Black Sea, dumping fuel on it and striking its propeller and causing the U.S. to down it in international waters.
The incident on Tuesday was the first known physical contact between U.S. and Russian forces since the Ukraine war began.
The video, which is 42 seconds long, shows an Su-27 fighter jet pass close to the drone while attempting to dump fuel on it. After a cut in the video, another clip shows a jet emerging from below and dumping fuel before the video pixelates and cuts out. A third portion of the video appears to show damaged propeller blades.
The video was edited for length, but the events are shown in the order they happened, according to European Command.
In its initial statement, European Command said the drone was “conducting routine operations in international airspace” when the two Su-27s intercepted it. The jet that struck the drone also nearly crashed, according to Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker.
A Russian Su-27 fighter jet releases fuel as it approaches the rear of a U.S. Air Force MQ-9, in what the Pentagon says was “an unsafe and unprofessional intercept” over the Black Sea.
U.S. European Command video / Screenshot by NPR
Russia has said it will at least try to recover the drone and analyze it for intelligence, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
“I don’t know if we will be able to get it or not. … I hope, of course, for success,” said the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, according to a translation.
Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recovering the drone is a challenge because the U.S. has no ships in the Black Sea. The drone is also likely under “maybe 4,000 or 5,000 feet of water,” he said, adding that “any recovery operation is very difficult at that depth by anyone.”
“If there is reason to believe that we could recover something, then we’ll work up options,” he said. “But we do have options, and we do have friends and allies in the region.”
Pentagon calls Russian military action “reckless”
The U.S. European Command described the encounter as “an unsafe and unprofessional intercept.”
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley said he wasn’t sure whether the Russian jet had intentionally made contact with the U.S. drone.
“Was it intentional or not? Don’t know yet. We know the intercept was intentional. We know the aggressive behavior was intentional. We also know it was very unprofessional,” he said.
John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesperson, echoed that point on Thursday.
“At best, it’s reckless flying,” Kirby said. “At worst, it’s reckless and incompetent.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry insists that its fighter jets did not attack or come into contact with the drone, alleging that the U.S. craft lost stability and control as a result of “quick maneuvering,” before losing altitude and crashing into the Black Sea.
The drone crashed in deep waters
As for whether the U.S. will seek to recover the downed drone, Milley said on Wednesday that the aircraft crashed in waters that are 4,000 or 5,000 feet deep, making any recovery operation difficult. But he also said the Pentagon is looking at options — which would include its allies, he said, because the U.S. doesn’t have “any naval surface vessels in the Black Sea at this time.”
Russia says it is looking for the drone.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the U.S. military “will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows.” Austin, who spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, by phone after the incident, said it’s also important to maintain communications, adding, “that will help to prevent miscalculations going forward.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Source: npr.org
