Drones must comply with flight restriction rules, which are established by Russian law. Then Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev commented on the telegram channel, the incident of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea.
Medvedev noted that there is no international convention that would regulate situations similar to the one that happened with the American drone. However, he referred to the Air Code of Russia, Article 15 of which establishes prohibited areas, dangerous areas and areas of restrictions on aircraft flights.
According to the Vice-President of the Security Council, drones must also respect these rules “especially during the period of hostilities, which is known to all users of airspace”.
“In addition, it is sometimes difficult to fix the moment of entry of an aircraft or a drone into the territorial sea,” Medvedev added. He also called the section of the Black Sea where the drone penetrated part of Russian territory “over which our sovereignty extends”.
“To put it simply, Americans are completely crazy. And doing the ceremony with them is a mistake. Although the contacts of the military (Russia and the United States) are necessary, of course. Especially in the context of statements by American bastards like Senator (Lindsey) Graham that it is necessary to shoot down Russian planes. By the way, sometimes aviation accidents happen with such creatures,” Medvedev wrote.
US drone incident over the Black Sea
On the evening of March 14, the United States European Command reported that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided over the Black Sea with an American MQ-9 Reaper drone. According to the Pentagon, one of the two planes that participated in the interception and dropped fuel on the drone crashed into the drone. After that, the aircraft had to be flooded in international waters, the US military said.
The Russian Defense Ministry, in turn, claims that the fighters did not come into contact with the MQ-9. According to the military department, the drone made a sudden maneuver and lost control, after which it fell into the water.
Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also had a phone conversation during which they exchanged views on the crash. Nikolay Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, said Russian specialists would take care of recovering the fallen MQ-9.
March 16 US Department of Defense European Command published video of the incident. It shows the Russian fighter jet maneuvering twice in front of the MQ-9 and dumping fuel on it. After the second attempt, the video breaks.
On March 17, CNN, citing sources, reported that the United States, after the incident with the MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, plans to analyze the costs and benefits of such missions. According to the chain, Washington will compare “the potential intelligence value of this route with the risk of escalation in relations with Russia”.
