Footage of a Russian plane allegedly carrying out a dangerous interception of a US Air Force surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea has been released by the Pentagon.
Key points:
- Declassified video was extensively edited by US military, Pentagon says
- Russia has denied accusations that its plane acted recklessly
- The incident has raised fears that it could bring the United States and Russia closer to direct conflict.
The 42-second video, released Thursday morning local time, shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the rear of the MQ-9 drone and beginning to release fuel as it passes, the Pentagon said.
The American army said he abandoned the MQ-9 Reaper in the sea after the Russian fighter jet poured fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle and then hit its propeller.
In the video, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet comes very close to the U.S. MQ-9 drone and dumps fuel near it, in what U.S. officials said was an apparent attempt to damage the U.S. aircraft as it flew over the Black Sea.
The video also showed the loss of the video feed after another close-range Russian maneuver, which the Pentagon said was the result of the Russian plane colliding with the drone.
The case ended with footage of the drone's damaged propeller, which the Pentagon said was the result of the collision, rendering the plane inoperable.
The Pentagon released images of the drone's damaged propeller, believed to be the result of the collision. (Reuters: US European Command/Pentagon/Handout)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley spoke to their Russian counterparts about the downing of the U.S. drone following the encounter with Russian fighter jets.
In his remarks to reporters Wednesday, General Milley said it was clear that the interception and harassment of the drone by Russian aircraft was intentional.
However, he added that it was unclear whether the Russian pilots intended to ram the drone with their plane – a move that could also put the Russian plane in danger.
The phone calls with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov on Wednesday were the first since October.
Although interception attempts are not uncommon, the incident during the Ukraine war has raised fears that it could bring the United States and Russia closer to direct conflict.
The fact that the two countries' top defense and military officials spoke so soon after the Black Sea meeting underscored the seriousness of the situation.
The Pentagon said the video was extensively edited by the U.S. military, but showed the events in sequential order.
Russia likely trying to recover US drone debris
On Thursday, the Pentagon said Russia was likely trying to recover debris from the downed U.S. drone, while downplaying Moscow's chances of success..
“We have indications that Russia is likely making an effort to try to recover the debris from the MQ-9…however, we assess it as very unlikely that they will be able to recover anything useful,” said Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.
A map of the encounter between a US MQ-9 unmanned drone and a Russian Su-27 jet over the Black Sea. (Reuters: US Department of Defense/Handout)
A US official – speaking on condition of anonymity – said Russian ships had been seen near the area where the drone crashed, although they did not yet appear to have recovered any part of the drone.
It was unclear whether the ships were still in the area.
Earlier, General Milley told reporters at a press briefing that it was likely the drone broke up on impact in the Black Sea, in a depth of up to 1,524 meters of water, and would be difficult to recover.
This incident during the war in Ukraine has raised fears that it could bring the United States and Russia closer to direct conflict. (AP photo)
“Frankly, there's probably not much to salvage, as far as loss of sensitive intelligence and so on. As usual, we would take, and have taken, mitigation measures,” General Milley said.
“We are therefore convinced that everything that had value no longer has value.“
On Wednesday, Kremlin Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said Russia would try to recover what remained of the drone.
“I don't know if we can get them back or not… I certainly hope we succeed,” Mr Patrushev said.
ABC/son
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