Recovering a U. S. surveillance drone that crashed after being intercepted by Russian warplanes would be tricky given the deep waters of the Black Sea, a senior U. S. general said, as reports emerged of Russian ships at the crash site.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the wreckage of the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned drone, which the U. S. says was shot down by one of two Russian Su-27 jets that cut the drone’s propeller, sank in waters as deep as 1219 to 1524 meters (4,000 to 5,000 feet).
“It probably sank to significant depths, so any recovery operation from a technical standpoint would be very difficult,” Milley told reporters Wednesday. Milley added that it would be several days before the United States knew for sure the length of the rubble field.
Moscow, which denies its planes were in physical contact with the drone, said it would review the wreckage of the drone when reports emerged Thursday that U. S. officials showed Russian ships had arrived at the crash site.
ABC News’ Pentagon lead reporter, Luis Martinez, tweeted that two U. S. officials had shown the presence of Russian ships in the Black Sea crash.
— Luis Martínez (@LMartinezABC) March 16, 2023
The Black Sea borders Russia and Ukraine.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told Rossiya-1 TV on Wednesday that Russia would attempt an operation against the American spy drone.
“I don’t know if we’re going to be able to get it back or not, but we have to. And, in fact, we will work on it. I hope, of course, to succeed,” he said.
Milley said the U. S. has taken steps so that there is no loss of sensitive data if the drone is recovered through Russia.
“Surely we are convinced that what used to be priced is no longer priced,” Milley said.
Patrushev also said the drone incident proved that the United States is involved in the war in Ukraine. “This is another confirmation that they are directly involved in those actions, in the war,” he said.
Moscow’s ambassador to the U. S. , Anatoly Antonov, said the deployment of a drone from Washington thousands of miles from the U. S. The U. S. military presence near Russia’s borders showed that it is gathering intelligence for the Ukrainian military to help it carry out attacks against Russian forces.
Ukraine warned Wednesday that the downing of the drone signaled Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal of “expanding the conflict. “
“The purpose of this global tactic is to raise the stakes,” Ukrainian Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on social media.
– Oleksiy Danilov (@OleksiyDanilov) March 15, 2023
But with U. S. officials claiming the Russian plane possibly collided with the drone and Moscow maintaining that the planes did not physically interfere with the plane, it appears both sides are aiming at restraint and avoiding an escalation of the military at an already pointed point. tensions over Russia. war in Ukraine.
Milley, the US general, said the interception and harassment of the drone via Russian jets was intentional, but it is unclear whether the Russian aircraft had intentionally made contact with the MQ-9, a maneuver that could also put the Russian plane on. at risk.
“Was it intentional or not? I don’t know yet,” Milley said.
Earlier Wednesday, U. S. State Department spokesmanU. S. Attorney General Ned Price said the incident was likely unintentional.
Milley also spoke with his Russian counterpart, Chief of Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, in a rare phone call Wednesday, the Pentagon said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, after the incident, but revealed the main points of their conversation.