The Strain on the American and Russian Relationship
In a series of unfortunate interactions between the U.S. and Russia, another event has worsened tensions between the two nations. Russian fighter pilots intercepted a U.S. military drone, the MQ-9 Reaper, over the Black Sea on March 14th. As a result of this unjustified interception, the MQ-9 Reaper made a crash landing in the Black Sea. The crash of the military-grade drone cost American taxpayers over 50 million dollars.
What exactly is an MQ-9 Reaper drone, and why is it so important? The MQ-9, according to the U.S. air force, is a military device used for "primarily … intelligence-collection … and secondarily[for] dynamic execution targets." So, in other words, this drone can perform surveillance and unexpected precision air strikes when an identified target is detected too late. These capabilities and the drone's ability to perform reconnaissance, combat search and rescue, route clearance, and more made it an invaluable tool for the U.S. military.
The United States and Russia have both released statements regarding this incident. It’s unsurprising that both accounts of the event from the parties conflict. American military officials came out on the day of the crash and stated that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet had struck down the Reaper while it was performing routine surveillance, forcing it to crash land in the Black Sea. They also said that moments before the Russian jet clipped the drone's propeller, causing it to come down, it dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a "reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner."
On the other hand, Russian officials provided their statement claiming MQ-9 was flying near Crimea, an annexed country Russia gained control over in 2014. Due to the drone's known capabilities for air strikes and surveillance, Russian officials claimed they were closely monitoring it when a "sharp maneuvering" caused MQ-9 to lose altitude and go into an uncontrollable flight until it collided with the water.
Russian ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov's statement best summarizes this event and the relationship between these two countries: "if ... a Russian strike drone appeared in New York or San Francisco, how would the U.S. Air Force and Navy react?" There is a gap in trust between the U.S. and Russia. This gap continues to widen. Without a straightforward
way to know which side is telling the whole truth, this event is just another that will continue to sour the relationship between the United States and Russia.