US drone that crashed into Black Sea is critical technology Washington does not want shared

Russian media claims an undersea robot has located a crashed US drone in the Black Sea. See why the recovery is so significant.

The downing of a US drone over the Black Sea sparked a war of words between Moscow and Washington and a race to recover classified technology. Now Russia claims it has found the wreckage.

The US argued a Russian Su-27 fighter jet clipped a US MQ-9 surveillance drone on Tuesday, requiring the unmanned aircraft to be brought down in the Black Sea, but Moscow denied responsibility and accused the US of conducting “hostile” flights in the region.

However shock new video released by the US European Command Centre shows the Russian jet dumping fuel in the path of the drone before clipping its propeller.

It’s the first such incident between the rival countries since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, furthering fears the conflict was spiralling into a global conflict.

US and Russia scrambled to retrieve the wreckage from the drone – with the latter on Friday claiming to have located the drone at a depth of up to 2953ft in the Black Sea off major naval port Sevastopol.

The Sun reports ForPost, a publication in annexed Crimea, cites a source close to the Russian defence ministry as saying: “An underwater robot has descended to the seabed and detected the MQ-9 Reaper at a depth of about 850-900 metres. The deep-water branch of the South Stream gas pipeline runs not far from this area.”

The ForPost claim has not been officially confirmed. See why it is so significant if it is true.

WHAT IS AN MQ-9 REAPER DRONE?

Reapers are unmanned aircraft that gather intel with high-tech cameras, sensors and radars.

It can be armed with Hellfire missiles as well as laser-guided bombs and can fly for more than 1770km at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet, according to the US Air Force.

It has a 20 metre wingspan, a Honeywell engine, can carry 1770kg of fuel and can travel at a speed of 444km/h.

The Reaper drones fly from Poland, Romania, Greece and Estonia.

The MQ-9 Reaper can fly more than 1770km. Picture: William Rosado/ US Air Force/ AFP

WHAT ARE THEIR ADVANTAGES?

They are safer since they do not require a pilot and, unlike most other aircraft, can fly for longer gathering intel.

They are also cheaper than manned aircraft, costing about $3500 per flight an hour compares to an F-16 which costs about $8000 per hour to operate, according to maker General Atomics.

WHY IS THE WRECKAGE RECOVERY SO IMPORTANT?

The US military keeps virtually all details of its drone operations classified including the components in its aircraft.

While they instantly transmit full-motion video to intelligence analysts tens of thousands kilometres away as opposed to storing the footage, its make up from the wiring to weapons and shape is critical technology the US would not want shared.

Just studying, or reverse engineering a captured drone, would expose its unique shape design and drone stealth coating could expose a weakness another country could exploit.

There is also potential to read its sensor data to understand its flying and reconnaissance capabilities.

Most military drones come with self-destruct mechanisms to wipe out data and or even destroy the aircraft but whatever is left may be enough to understand its capabilities.

CAN THE WRECKAGE BE RECOVERED?

Both the US and Russia acknowledged retrieving the drone wreckage would be challenging.

“I don’t know whether we will be able to retrieve it or not, but that it has to be done. And we’ll certainly work on it. I hope, of course, successfully,” Kremlin Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not explicitly rule out a US recovery effort, but said doing so would be difficult.

“We don’t have any naval surface vessels in the Black Sea at this time,” and the drone likely broke up and sank in an area where the water is 4000-5000 feet (1200-1500 meters) deep,” he said.

WHAT IF RUSSIA GOT TO THE WRECKAGE FIRST?

General Milley was quick to downplay any risk if Moscow gets its hands on the drone wreckage.

Even if Russia was able to recover the wreckage, the United States took “mitigating measures” to protect sensitive information.

“We are quite confident that whatever was of value is no longer of value,” Gen Milley said.

The MQ-9 gathers intel with high-tech cameras, sensors and radars. Picture: US Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe

HAS THE US LOST A DRONE BEFORE?

Yes. Several US Reapers have been lost in recent years, including to hostile fire.

One was shot down in 2019 over Yemen with a surface-to-air missile fired by Huthi rebels, the US Central Command said at the time.

According to media reports, a US MQ-9 crashed in Libya in 2022, while another went down during a training exercise in Romania earlier in the same year.

WHAT NOW FOR THE US?

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday that US aircraft will fly “wherever international law allow”.
The US defense chief also told a news conference that it is “incumbent upon Russia to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner.” Austin said maintaining communication with Russia is key, after more than a year of the Ukraine war during which direct contact between top US and Russian defense officials has been rare.

“We take any potential for escalation very seriously and that’s why I believe it’s important to keep the lines of communication open,” he said.

“I think it’s really key that we’re able to pick up the phone and engage each other. And I think that will help to prevent miscalculation going forward.”

– with AFP

Originally published as US drone that crashed into Black Sea is critical technology Washington does not want shared