Russia gives awards to fighter pilots involved in US drone crash

US officers say surveillance flights over the Black Sea have resumed regardless of Russia’s downing of the MQ-9 Reaper drone.

Russia has conferred state awards on the 2 fighter pilots concerned within the downing of a US surveillance drone that crashed into the Black Sea, the Russian Defence Ministry mentioned, whereas United States officers introduced that its spy flights within the area have resumed.

Presenting the awards on Friday to the Su-27 jet fighter pilots, Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu lauded their achievement in stopping the drone from flying into an space close to Crimea to which Moscow has banned entry.

“The drone flew with its transponders off, violating the boundaries of the realm of the momentary airspace utilization regime established for the particular army operation [and] communicated to all customers of worldwide airspace,” Russia’s defence ministry mentioned in an announcement, in response to The Moscow Instances.

Professional-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov mentioned the awards for the pilots have been “a transparent signal that Russia will preserve downing” US drones.

“This resolution will obtain a powerful help from the Russian society that wishes the federal government to toughen its coverage,” Markov wrote in a commentary.

Russia’s presentation of the awards comes a day after the US army launched a declassified 42-second video clip displaying the Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepting the drone and making shut passes whereas dumping gas in an obvious bid to break the drone’s optical and different hi-tech devices.

The US army mentioned it was compelled to ditch the MQ-9 Reaper drone within the Black Sea after one of many Russian jets struck the drone’s propeller whereas it was flying in worldwide airspace. Russia has denied that its jets triggered any bodily hurt to the US drone, alleging it crashed whereas making a pointy manoeuvre.

US officers have mentioned the restoration of what remained of the completed could be troublesome as a result of deep water within the Black Sea. However Russian state media reported that Russian navy forces have detected the drone’s wreckage some 60km (37 miles) from the Crimean port metropolis of Sevastopol at a depth of 850-900 meters (2,788-2,952 ft), in response to The Moscow Instances.

Although Moscow and Washington initially traded sturdy phrases over the drone incident, the US appeared intent on easing rigidity by declaring it was unknown whether or not the Russian pilot had deliberately struck the uncrewed plane.

Russian officers additionally emphasised the necessity to keep strains of communication with Washington after the incident, whereas on the similar time harshly denouncing the US for working surveillance flights on its borders in addition to sharing army intelligence with Ukraine that might be used to assault Russian forces.

US officers mentioned on Friday that its surveillance drone flights over the Black Sea had already resumed.

An RQ-4 International Hawk flew a mission to the area on Friday, two officers instructed the Reuters information company, with one including that it was the primary such drone flight for the reason that downing of the drone on Tuesday.