MQ-9 Reaper on the march
Yesterday, Thursday, the Kremlin made it clear again that “if necessary” Russian forces will recover the wreckage of a US drone that crashed into the Black Sea a few days ago. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news conference in the capital, Moscow, that if the military deems it necessary to do so … in our interests and security, it will do so.
But what do those phrases mean, and why is the Russian military trying to save the MQ-9 Reaper?
The drone, if it remains, could no doubt help the Russians discover new “technologies” that the United States has used in its aircraft design, especially spying and photography methods, not only between Moscow and Washington, but also globally in technological competition.
It could also be used by Russian forces, although this is unlikely.
High notes
Especially the MQ-9 Reaper is one of the latest US drones and it has high technical specifications and can perform multiple missions in the battlefields.
It is an updated version of the MQ-1 Predator, introduced in the nineties of the last century, and is capable of carrying out tasks related to surveillance, monitoring, reconnaissance, search and rescue, and is capable of attacking targets. On the ground, the missile uses the missile on battlefields.
In addition, it can carry eight laser-guided missiles, 16 Hellfire missiles and 1,300 pounds (590 liters) of fuel, while being able to fly 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometers) in the air and fly at altitudes. Up to 50,000 feet.
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It costs about 30 million dollars.
Russian hopes were dashed
But US Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder dashed Russian hopes, saying yesterday that his country was aware of Russian efforts to recover the wreckage of the parade. However, he emphasized that the Russian forces cannot gain anything useful from these drones for two reasons.
First, the Pentagon took steps to protect the information on the drone, and second, it fell into very deep water!
So it seems that Russian dreams of accessing the secrets of the technology may also crumble in the depths of the water.
Notably, the United States released a video clip yesterday showing the moment a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 intercepted an MQ-9 Reaper drone, harassed it, and crashed its helicopter into water, regardless of Moscow. Disprove that account and confirm that only the drone went down!
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