The U.S. Department of Defense released video footage of the Russian fighter jet harassing and then colliding with an unmanned U.S. Reaper drone over the Black Sea this week – a clear sign that things are getting serious quick. And now, a new report has suggested that the collision was anything but a coincidence.
The Russian government approved Tuesday’s incident in which a Russian fighter jet collided with a U.S. reaper drone over the Black Sea, according to a new report.
A decision on the drone was made at the Kremlin in Moscow, three U.S. officials told NBC News. However, the decision did not seem to have reached President Vladimir Putin directly.
Meanwhile, as noted by the Daily Wire, General Mark Milley brushed off any possibility of a planned attack, saying, “Incidents happen.”
During the incident, two Russian jets attacked a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone in international waters. In an apparent attempt to knock the drone off course or disable its surveillance equipment, at least one jet sprayed fuel over it.
One of the jets clipped the drone’s propeller, causing it to crash into the sea.
Russian forces are currently working to recover the downed MQ-9 drone, which cost the U.S. $32 million. It is unlikely that the U.S. will attempt to recover the drone on its own.
Russia’s aggression towards the U.S drone carries extreme consequences not only for our defense capabilities but also for peace worldwide if left unchecked or allowed to escalate further than it already has done so far. Not only could escalation lead to conflict between two nuclear powers, but other nations may feel emboldened by Russia’s example leading to more incidents like this one occurring. In light of these recent events, it is imperative that something be done in order to deter similar incidents from occurring in the future; otherwise we could quickly find ourselves mired in even deeper international conflicts with no way out.
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