US flying surveillance drones farther south over Black Sea after collision with Russian fighter jet, officials say
By: Oren Liebermann, Jim Sciutto (CNN)
The US military responds to a US drone being downed over the Black Sea by Russian aircraft. Maybe the Russian pilots were incompetent but their mission was successful.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
(CNN) - The US is flying surveillance drones farther south above the Black Sea after a Russian jet collided with a US drone last week, according to two US officials.
The drone flights have remained in international airspace, but since the collision between one of the Russian jets and the MQ-9 Reaper drone last Tuesday, the US has moved its drone flights farther away from airspace surrounding the Crimean peninsula and eastern portions of the Black Sea.
One of the officials said the routes are part of an effort “to avoid being too provocative,” as the Biden administration remains careful to avoid an incident that could potentially escalate into a direct conflict between US and Russian forces.
The official said the drone flights would continue this way “for the time being,” but added there is already “an appetite” to return to the routes closer to Russian-held territory. The officials also said Russia may try to unilaterally declare a broader closure of airspace around southern and eastern Ukraine in an attempt to force US drone flights farther out.
On Tuesday, FlightRadar24, a commercial flight tracking website, showed a US RQ-4 Global Hawk remaining in the southern and southwestern portions of the Black Sea at an altitude of approximately 52,000 feet.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday the US was continuing to operate drones over the Black Sea, “flying in international airspace in accordance with international law.” But he declined to say whether the US had changed its routes or mission profiles following last week’s encounter between a US spy drone and two Russian fighter jets.
“I’m not going to, for operational security reasons, not going to get into the specifics of routes, missions, timelines, things like that,” Ryder said at a press briefing.
Last week, two Russian Sukhoi SU-27 fighter jets harassed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone operating in international airspace over the Black Sea. One of the jets then collided with the surveillance drone, damaging its propeller and forcing it down.
Following the incident, CNN reported that the US was conducting an assessment of drone flights over the Black Sea to include potential routes, altitudes, risks and more. The purpose of the assessment was to evaluate the intelligence gathered from the missions against the risk of escalation with Russia.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after the incident the US would “continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows.” Even as the US carried out the assessment, another MQ-9 Reaper drone flew over the Black Sea in approximately the same area as the downed flight to survey the crash site, officials said.
Several days later, a US RQ-4 Global Hawk flew above southern portions of the Black Sea, venturing into the eastern regions of the waterway near Russian territory, according to FlightRadar24.
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Russia could fly drones out of Cuba. But as long as those drones remain in international airspace, the United States wouldn't do anything?
Cuba currently bans drone use.
The Cuban government has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine from the beginning. The Cuban government has stated that the United States is responsible for the war in Ukraine. Cuba has chosen a side and it's not our side.
Yes, both unrelated facts are correct.
Unrelated? That's interesting, please, tell me more.
Russia does not have drones comparable to those of the US
Yes because uncle Joe wouldn’t want to be provocative towards his buddies Xi and Vlady.
Brandon would cut Xi any amount of slack. Vlad; not so much. He would have to deal with the TDS suffering mighty mental midgets in his own party that are still butt sore over the 2016 elections; and he needs them in his camp for 2024. He loses their support; and he might find himself under the same bus as Hunter, his brother, and anyone else in his family that has taken money from overseas for Brandon doing political favors.
Improving relations between Russia and China may provide a pathway for a stronger Chinese presence in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Aren't those countries driving the illegal immigration crisis in the United States?
China knows how to use economics and trade to wage a 'cold war'. Isolating China with sanctions won't work and Biden knows it. A partnership between Russia and China could open Latin America for China's belt and road policies.
An MQ-9 is not a "surveillance drone". It is called the "Reaper" because of it's payload:
With that platform in the air, there was more than surveillance going on.
That's not entirely correct. The US military configures a single platform for multiple roles to simplify procurement, logistics, training, and support. A Reaper is an armed Predator. But Predators are also configured specifically for surveillance. We don't know if the downed Predator was armed. And the military won't tell us for 'national security reasons'.
The interesting bit of info from the seed is that the US has been flying Global Hawks over the Black Sea.
There is are distinct differences between the MQ-9 (Reaper) and the MQ-1 (Predator). Neither the Reaper or Predator are used for surveillance. (A unit I was assigned to in Afghanistan tried and we got our asses handed to us by the Chain of Command) That is the mission of the RQ-7 (Shadow). It is more cost efficient and maneuverable than both the MQ-1 and 9.
I was kind of surprised to hear of them flying but remember we are still fighting in Iraq and Syria and have some based in Europe.
That's not what the Air Forces says.
I admit I always confuse the Predator and Reaper and often think they are the same aircraft. Thanks for reminding me they're not.
I don't know if the US is still flying drones out of Turkey. There was a kerfuffle over US aircraft based in Turkey and don't recall if that has been resolved. Drones based in Iraq would still need to overfly Turkey to get to the Black Sea. The US could fly drones out of one of the Balkan NATO member states, too. It's difficult to find info because it's been classified for national security reasons.
It has many uses including those of surveillance. CPB has used them on both borders ... I seriously doubt they were armed.
I know for a fact that the US Customs & Border Patrol use MQ-9 Reaper drones outfitted for surveillance use on our borders. I have seen them land at my local airport here in Arizona in CBP markings.