(FeaturedNews.com) – The unexpected attack of U.S. airspace that was flying in international airspace on Tuesday from Russia has led to concerns about the escalating relations between Moscow and Washington. The Biden administration and lawmakers have criticized Russia for what they claimed were unprofessional and unsafe maneuvers with two Russian jets which led to a U.S. MQ-9, being damaged and eventually crashing in the Black Sea.
Top American defense officials also pointed out that this event was completely out of the norm. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall specifically told the Hill that this “is extremely unusual” and that he did not know of another incident like this one that had occurred in the past year.
While it is not uncommon for U.S. and Russian aircraft to be intercepted, the specific situation that occurred with this drone was “uncommon and unfortunate and unsafe,” according to Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.
The actions were also condemned by the U.S. European Command which called the actions of the Russian jets “dangerous” as they could result in “unintended escalation.”
It is so far unclear whether this was a rogue pilot or whether they had been instructed to damage the U.S. drone. U.S. aircraft have been flying over the Black Sea since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The MQ-9 spy drone is specifically used to look at the region.
However, on Tuesday it became clear that the Russian warplane had specifically attempted to damage the U.S. aircraft during its routine flight over the Black Sea. According to reports the jets had flown along the drone for around 30 to 40 minutes before one of them dumped fuel on it.
Copyright 2023, FeaturedNews.com
