Tensions Raised in Black Sea Region After Downing of US MQ-9 

Tensions have been raised in the Black Sea region following an incident on the morning of 14 March 2023 in which one of two Russian Su-27 fighters operating in the area brought down a US MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

According to a statement released later that day by the US Department of Defense (DoD), the Su-27 struck the MQ-9’s propeller, causing its US operator to bring the UAV down into international waters of the Black Sea.

“Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” said US Air Force General James B Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa. “This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional.”

According to the US DoD, the MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted.

“This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with US and allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea,” Gen Hecker added. “These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.”

Pentagon Press Secretary USAF Brigadier General Pat Ryder noted in a briefing to media that the incident “most likely caused damage to the Russian aircraft, although it was able to land”.

It is unclear to what extent the collision was deliberate or the result of a miscalculation of the Russian pilot in harassing the MQ-9. The Reaper is powered by a Honeywell TPE331-10GD turboprop driving a ‘pusher’ propeller immediately behind the Reaper’s Y-shaped tail section, so it is possible that the pilot of the Su-27, which is quite manoeuvrable at slower speeds, could have deliberately contacted the propeller with a wingtip. However, the MQ-9 is not a small tactical system but a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV with a wingspan of more than 20 m, meaning that any contact with it would have also endangered the Russian fighter.

As of 15 March the US DoD had not released any footage from the MQ-9’s turret-mounted onboard electro-optical system, but footage emerged on Twitter apparently showing a Russian fighter cutting in front of an MQ-9, taken from the cockpit of the Russian aircraft. It has not been confirmed whether this was footage from 14 March.

With the UAV now at the bottom of the Black Sea, a race is on to recover the wreckage. Speaking on state TV, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev confirmed that Moscow was attempting to find the aircraft.

Meanwhile, John Kirby, the US National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications, stated that the US Navy would also try to recover the wreckage, but added that if the Russians managed to find it first “their ability to exploit useful intelligence will be highly minimised”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the BBC on 15 March that such incidents were bound to occur. “As long as Russia controls Crimea, these kinds of incidents will be inevitable and the Black Sea will not be a safe place,” he said. “So the only way to prevent such incidents is actually to kick Russia out of Crimea.”

The US military is very unlikely to curtail its operations over and around the Black Sea, so further confrontations with Russian fighters operating out of Crimea are certainly a possibility.

Peter Felstead