It was a reckless and dangerous act that heightens military tensions with the United States. Russia must exercise strong restraint to prevent such a situation from occurring again.
In airspace over the Black Sea facing Ukraine, where Russia continues to invade, a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 surveillance drone crashed after a collision with a Russian Su-27 fighter jet.
According to the U.S. side’s explanation, Su-27s approached the MQ-9 and dumped fuel over the drone several times, blocking its path, and one of the Su-27s and the MQ-9 collided. As the drone’s propeller was damaged and it became unable to navigate, the U.S. operator reportedly was forced to ditch the drone in the sea.
The U.S. military also released video footage taken by the MQ-9’s cameras before and after the collision, and harshly criticized Russia for its “unsafe intercept.”
The Russian side has claimed that the MQ-9 went out of control and crashed, but it is obvious that the Russian claim is a lie, judging from the video.
Russia must not have expected its actions to cause the collision and crash. If the Su-27 had also crashed and the crew had been killed, the U.S. side could have been blamed for the incident and Russia would have taken countermeasures.
This is a rash act that fails to heed the lessons of history, in which unintended skirmishes and miscalculations have led to large-scale military conflicts.
The defense chiefs of the United States and Russia held a telephone conversation after the collision. This is a sign that both countries take the situation seriously and are effectively in agreement that the situation should not be escalated any further. It is important to maintain dialogue and deepen communication in the future.
The latest clash has highlighted the reality that the United States and Russia have experienced fierce confrontations with each other in the Black Sea region.
Russia has deployed a large number of naval vessels in the Black Sea, using it as a base for missile attacks on Ukraine. The U.S. military uses drones and other means to gather intelligence on the movements of Russian naval vessels and missile launches, and shares the information with Ukraine.
Such intelligence is vital for Ukraine to continue its fight against Russia. Russia’s persistent interceptions of U.S. drones entering the Black Sea can be said to be a proof of such circumstance.
Russia also claims that the MQ-9 violated airspace over the Black Sea, where it had unilaterally set up a restricted zone in furtherance of its invasion of Ukraine. The incident site is in international airspace, and Russia’s claim has no basis in terms of international law.
The collection of military intelligence in international airspace is a legitimate activity that countries routinely engage in. The United States should steadily continue its intelligence-gathering activities while keeping in mind the risk of clash with Russia.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 18, 2023)
Reckless Interception by Russian Military Planes Heightens Tensions
It was a reckless and dangerous act that heightens military tensions with the United States. Russia must exercise strong restraint to prevent such a situation from occurring again.
In airspace over the Black Sea facing Ukraine, where Russia continues to invade, a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 surveillance drone crashed after a collision with a Russian Su-27 fighter jet.
According to the U.S. side’s explanation, Su-27s approached the MQ-9 and dumped fuel over the drone several times, blocking its path, and one of the Su-27s and the MQ-9 collided. As the drone’s propeller was damaged and it became unable to navigate, the U.S. operator reportedly was forced to ditch the drone in the sea.
The U.S. military also released video footage taken by........
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