He Pentagon has posted images of what it says is a russian fighter plane making an unsafe interception of a drone surveillance of the US Air Force in international airspace over the Black Sea.
The 42-second video, posted Thursday, shows a su-27 Russian approaching the rear of the drone MQ-9 Reapers and beginning to release fuel in its wake, the Pentagon said.
The US military said it abandoned the MQ-9 Reaper at sea on Tuesday after the Russian fighter jet pour fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle, in an apparent attempt to blind your optical instruments and eject him from the area, and then hit his propeller.
The published fragment does not show the events before or after the apparent confrontation over fuel spillage.
The Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austinand the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milleythey spoke with their Russian counterparts about the destruction of the American drone after the encounter with the Russian fighters.
Wednesday’s calls with the Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoiguand the chief of the Russian General Staff, General Valery GerasimovThey were the first since October.
Although interception attempts are not uncommon, the incident in the middle of the war in Ukraine has raised worry because of the possibility that it brings the United States and Russia closer to a direct conflict.
The fact that the two countries’ top military and defense officials spoke so soon after the Black Sea meeting underscores their gravity.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in its report of the call with Austin that Shoigu accused the United States of provoking the incident by ignoring flight restrictions that the Kremlin had imposed due to its military operations in Ukraine.
Russia also blamed “the intensification of intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation.”
Such US actions “carry a escalation of the situation in the Black Sea areathe Defense Ministry said, warning that Russia will “respond in kind to all provocations.”
(With information from AP)
Keep reading:
What is it, how much does it cost and what is the main function of the MQ-9 Reaper, the US drone that was attacked by a Russian plane
The United States warned Russia that it will not stop surveillance flights despite the downing of its drone in the Black Sea
Source-www.infobae.com