a few seconds agoUS publishes moment when Russian aircraft pumps fuel over its fears
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)The Pentagon released images Thursday of a Russian jet that pumps fuel on a threat Watch Tower of the United States Air Force in international airspace over the Black Sea. The move damaged a drive edge by cutting off its propeller. The short video shows a Russian Su-27 approaching [...]
The short video shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the U.S. MQ-9 and starts releasing fuel, the Pentagon said, adding that the <x0 fuel station seemed to be aiming to blind the optical instruments of the drive and to expel it from the” area.
The video fragment published by the Pentagon does not tell the events before or after the apparent confrontation of fuel dumps.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Staff chief General Mark Millie spoke to their Russian counterparts about the destruction of the American driver after the crash.
Calls with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Chief of General Staff General Valery Gerasimov on Wednesday were the first since October 2022.
As surveillance efforts are not rare, the incident in mid-war Ukraine has raised concerns that it could bring the United States and Russia closer to a direct conflict.
The fact that the two countries' top defence and military leaders were talking so soon after this match on the Black Sea underscored its seriousness.
The Russian Defence Ministry, in announcing the call with Austin and Shoigu, said the latter accused the US of provoking the incident after ignoring the limits of flying that Kremlin had imposed on the US “due to their military operations in Ukraine”.
Russia also blamed the US for “intensification of intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation” and said “Moscow will respond equally to all provocations”.
MQ-9, which has a 20m wing opening, includes a land control station and satellite equipment. He is capable of carrying ammunition, but General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, did not say if fear thrown into the sea was armed.
He said the incident took place at 7:03 a.m. on international waters and far away from Ukraine, as Russian planes had flown to the Dron for 30 to 40 minutes.
The United States has not recovered the collapsed fears, the US Air Force said in Europe, but not even Russia has, Ryder said.
Russian officials said Wednesday they would try to save fragments of the MQ-9 River from the Black Sea.
American officials have left open the possibility of trying to recover a portion of the crash drive costing $32m, which they said collapsed in waters of 1,200 to 1,500m deep.
Other American officials said the US does not have military ships in the region and is unlikely to recover the Dron's remains. However, they voiced confidence that nothing of military value will remain in the fears, even if Russia manages to take up its remains.
