The US military said it shot down an MQ-9 Reaper into the ocean on Tuesday after Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle that prevented its optical (surveillance) instruments from seeing it and forced it out of the area. There was an apparent attempt to disrupt its propeller. The released portion of the video does not show the events before or after the confrontation over the alleged fuel spill.
Face to face of two enemies is not normal
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley have spoken to their Russian counterparts about the destruction of a US drone following a shootout with Russian fighter jets. The call took place on Wednesday for the first time since October with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian General Staff Chief General Valery Gerasimov. Attempts by planes to approach each other in a dangerous manner are not uncommon. The incident, which occurred amid the war in Ukraine, has raised concerns that such cases could bring the US and Russia closer to direct conflict.
Allegations of speeding up intelligence activities
After this incident, this conversation between the defense and military leadership of the two countries shows the seriousness of the matter. The Russian Defense Ministry, in its report on the phone conversation with Austin, said that Shoigu accused the US of provoking the incident by ignoring Kremlin-imposed flight restrictions because of its (Russia’s) military operations in Ukraine. . Russia also accused it of ‘increasing intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation’.