The Department of Defense is considering tailoring back surveillance operations in the Black Sea, CNN reported, citing defense officials.
Defense department is “taking a close look” at ways to reduce or restructure spying operations in the region to reduce the chances of further conflict, the officials, who have been flying their own jets in the Crimea, told the outlet. The Pentagon requested the Air Force’s European Command to provide a defense of ongoing spy flights in the region as part of a broader risk assessment, a senior U.S. military official told CNN.
U.S. officials plan to pit the costs of drone surveillance missions in the Black Sea, including certain routes that may run a higher risk of escalation with Russia, against the benefits of intelligence gathering on Russian activities, CNN reported. Some military officials have expressed concern that curtailing spy operations in the Black Sea could hamper collection related to the Ukraine war.
Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said he had conveyed to his hosts the position that US drones have no business flying so close to Russia. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said both pilots will receive an award for their actions.
The US military said on Thursday it was “weighing the costs and benefits” of further drone operations and “taking a close look” at their routes in order to reduce the risk of more incidents.
Washington has admitted to providing Ukraine with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information in the conflict against Russia, while insisting it is not a party to the hostilities.
A US P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft flying over the coast of Romania and watching the Black Sea, one day after a Russian jet collided with a US spy drone, causing it to go down in international waters SW of Crimea. pic.twitter.com/U3r4bDBT8v
— Oren Liebermann (@OrenCNN) March 15, 2023
A Global Hawk drone stayed at least 100 km from Crimea after the Reaper crash
The US military sent another spy drone over the Black Sea on Friday, keeping far away from the restricted airspace in which a MQ-9 drone crashed earlier this week, after being intercepted by Russian jets.
Flight tracking sites showed an UAV with the callsign Forte10, identified as a RQ-4 Global Hawk, circling over Romanian airspace before flying south and east. The drone circled over the eastern part of the Black Sea, but never came closer than 100 kilometers to Crimea.
The Black Sea portion of the mission took only two hours, instead of the usual twelve, noted one pro-Ukrainian observer on Twitter, calling it “definitely the strangest route that I have ever seen the RQ-4 take.”
Unnamed US officials later confirmed the mission to Reuters, saying it was the first such flight since Tuesday’s incident. However, the Pentagon had previously said another drone had been dispatched to monitor the possible salvage operation by the Russian navy.
On Tuesday morning, two Russian jets intercepted an American MQ-9 Reaper that was inside the restricted airspace without a transponder, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Moscow said the drone lost lift due to erratic maneuvers and dropped into the water. The incident happened about 60 kilometers southwest of Sevastopol.
The US military’s European Command accused the Russian pilots of “unsafe and unprofessional” flying, eventually releasing a video that showed jets repeatedly dousing the drone with fuel. According to the US, the drone crashed after a Russian jet struck its propeller. The Russian military said neither airplane made contact with the UAV.
