The US crashed Black Sea drone continued to ferment, and the two sides "competed" to salvage the wreckage

The incident of the crash of the US MQ-9 "Reaper" drone in the Black Sea is still fermenting, and Russia and the United States are constantly at odds around salvaging the wreckage of the drone.

According to CNN on March 3, a US official familiar with the matter said that Moscow has made it clear that it will salvage the wreckage of the drone, and the United States believes that Russia has found some of the wreckage, which the official said was fiberglass fragments of the drone.

Russia may send a century-old ship to salvage the wreckage of the drone

Komoedov, former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, told RIA News on the 15th that the Russian Navy's submarine force has the ability to salvage the drone, but Russian personnel "face the risk of being attacked by the Ukrainian side" during the salvage process.

The Kremlin said the decision on whether to retrieve the drone would be made by the Russian Defense Ministry. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on a conference call on the 16th that "this is the prerogative of the military. If they believe that this is necessary for our interests and security in the Black Sea, they will do it. ”

According to information published by the Russian side, the American MQ-9 Reaper drone that crashed in the Black Sea was found underwater about 60 kilometers from the city of Sevastopol in the Crimea and at a depth of about 900 meters. The ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet are on duty in the nearby waters, and the surrounding ships are not allowed to approach the scene.

Earlier, Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the water depth of the sea where the drone fell was about 1524 meters, and "it is very difficult for anyone to carry out any recovery operation at that depth."

Whether it is 900 meters or 1524 meters in water, the equipment carried by the submarine rescue ships of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet can be reached, and the heavy task of salvage may fall to the 110-year-old submarine rescue ship "Commune", which is Russia's longest active naval vessel.

The ship officially entered service with the Baltic Fleet in 1915 and has been modified several times during service, including the L-2009 deep-sea submersible, imported from the United Kingdom in 55, which can work underwater at depths of up to 1000,2016 meters, and the AS-28 deep-sea rescue submersible after the fourth modernization in 1000, which can carry out search, salvage and other operations in waters up to 100,150 meters. In more than 10 years of service, Commune has been involved in more than <> shipwreck salvages, including <> submarines, and after the sinking of the cruiser Moskva of the Black Sea Fleet last year, the rescue ship participated in the salvage of vital equipment.

For Russia's possible salvage of drone wreckage, the US military sent drones for surveillance on the one hand, and on the other hand, repeatedly said to the outside world that measures have been taken to delete sensitive information on drones.

In response to the sensitive information involved in the drone, Mark Milley said, "We have taken measures, so we are very confident that anything of value will no longer have the original value." ”

CNN quoted U.S. officials as saying that operators remotely removed the drone's sensitive software, reducing the risk of secret materials falling into enemy hands before the drone crashed into the water.

Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said the U.S. took steps to protect the drone when it crashed, but he declined to give any other details. The drone also fell into deep water, making rescue efforts more difficult.

Despite the measures taken by the US military, it clearly did not want the wreckage to fall into Moscow's hands. John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications at the National Security Council, said the United States is taking steps to ensure that drones that crashed over the Black Sea do not fall into the "wrong hands." "We have taken steps to protect our rights and interests in specific drones, specific aircraft," he said. This is the property of the United States. We obviously don't want to see anyone but us touching it. ”

According to the British "Guardian", the MQ-9 UAV is considered the most powerful multi-purpose drone in the United States, containing some of the most advanced American technology, each worth about $3200 million. "If it is salvaged by the Russian side, it will become an unexpected intelligence gain for Russia."

"As the main unmanned reconnaissance aircraft of the United States, whether it is the UAV technology itself or the information obtained during the UAV reconnaissance mission, it has great intelligence value for the Russian military, although the US military has taken measures to reduce the risk of leakage, but in its heart it obviously does not want to see Russia successfully salvage the wreckage of the UAV." Military expert Han Dong told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn).

Han Dong said: "As far as UAV technology is concerned, although Russia has successfully developed the 'Orion' long-endurance reconnaissance integrated UAV, but the performance is not as good as MQ-9, if the remains of MQ-9 UAV are obtained, it may be helpful for the future development of Russian UAV, and the rapid development of Iranian UAV has the 'credit' of American UAV." ”

Iran's commander of the Aerospace Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed in November 2018 that he had successfully "captured" a U.S. MQ-11 Reaper drone. In February 9, Iran demonstrated the latest domestically produced "Chada Integrated Unmanned" UAV, named Kaman-2021, which is very similar in appearance to the US MQ-2 UAV. In addition to the MQ-22 UAV, Iran has launched a number of similar stealth UAVs after the "captured" American RQ-9 stealth UAV.

CNBC quoted Defense Department officials as saying that the United States is discussing salvage, but there are many difficulties, and there are currently no American ships in the Black Sea.

Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February last year, Turkey, in accordance with the Montreux Convention, which stipulates the principles of passage of the Black Sea Strait, has closed the straits between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea to warships from any country without a home port on the Black Sea coast. Russia's "Viewpoint" said on the 2th that the underwater operation of salvaging drones requires special ships equipped with corresponding equipment, and the United States has such ships, but according to the regulations, US warships are prohibited from passing through the Bosphorus during hostilities.

But Sal Mercogliano, chair of the Department of History, Criminal Justice and Politics at Campbell University, was quoted by the U.S. Naval Association News Network as saying the Montreux Convention may not apply to merchant ships with rescue facilities on board. Sal Mercogliano said, "As long as it's non-military, they don't seem to have any problems." ”

And the United States could also seek help from Romania, a NATO member of the Black Sea littoral state that the U.S. Navy has hired sailors and equipment to fight in the region in the past.

"The United States will continue reconnaissance flights in the Black Sea"

CNN said that after the incident, the United States is evaluating its drone operations in the Black Sea region.

According to reports, during the assessment, the military did not completely stop flying - shortly after the collision, the military sent the same type of UAV MQ-9 UAV on a mission in the same area near the Black Sea to investigate the crash site and monitor Russia's operation to find the wreckage.

But to avoid another conflict, CNN said U.S. officials said the U.S. military was "closely watching" the drone's route and assessing how best to eliminate the clash with Russian forces. A senior U.S. military official said the Pentagon has asked European Command to justify surveillance flights in the area, in part to assess risk.

Kirby said that U.S. drones have been flying over the Black Sea since before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February last year, and this incident will not prevent the United States from continuing its missions in the region, and "the United States will continue to operate in international airspace over international waters, which does not belong to anyone."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin also made a similar statement, Austin said on the 15th that the United States will continue to conduct reconnaissance flights in the Black Sea field. Patrick Ryder once again reiterated the position that the US military will continue reconnaissance flights at a press conference on the 16th local time, saying that it will continue to fly and operate in international airspace in accordance with international law. In addition, Patrick Ryder also said that the United States has not sought an apology from Russia for the crash of its drone over the Black Sea.

According to CNN, the United States is considering another drone flight over the Black Sea in the coming days.

Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament), warned on the 15th that the United States announced that it will continue to fly over the Black Sea near the Russian border in the future, once again indicating that the United States is "participating in the conflict in Ukraine." The US side also openly admitted that "drones conduct reconnaissance of Russia." "There is no doubt that this is a provocation. Russia can only consider it hostile. The U.S. government should assess the dangers of drone risk-taking before they lead to more serious consequences."

"Now neither side can show weakness on the surface, because it is related to the face of the military, but in private they may be more cautious, try to avoid such incidents in the short term, and prevent the risk factors of military conflict from accumulating, resulting in an uncontrollable situation." Han Dong analyzed.