International

Watch : Russian Jet Release Fuel On US Drone

New Delhi, 16 March : The Pentagon has released footage showing a Russian Su-27 aircraft conducting an unsafe intercept of a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea. The 42-second video, released on Thursday, shows the Russian fighter approaching the drone from behind and releasing fuel as it passes, which the Pentagon says was an attempt to blind its optical instruments and drive it out of the area. The drone was subsequently struck by the fighter’s propeller, and the U.S. military says it was forced to ditch the MQ-9 Reaper in the sea on Tuesday.

US Releases Video Of Su-27 Jet Dumping Fuel On Its Drone After Denial By Russia#USRUSSIA #USDrone #RussianJet #RussiaUS #BlackSea pic.twitter.com/iyZk0qThzG

— The Voice of Sikkim (@thevoicesikkim) March 16, 2023

Following the incident, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley spoke with their Russian counterparts, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov. The calls, which took place on Wednesday, were the first since October.

While intercept attempts are not uncommon, the incident has raised concerns that it could bring the U.S. and Russia closer to direct conflict amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The fact that the two countries’ top defense and military leaders spoke so soon after the encounter over the Black Sea highlights the seriousness of the situation.

Russia, in its report of the call with Austin, accused the U.S. of provoking the incident by ignoring flight restrictions imposed by the Kremlin due to its military operations in Ukraine. Russia also blamed “the intensification of intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation” and warned that it will respond in kind to all provocations, saying that such actions by the U.S. “are fraught with escalation of the situation in the Black Sea area.”
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