The United States has sunk an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Black Sea after it was damaged by a Russian Su-27 fighter. The Russians decided to raise the drone using an old ship.

The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, informed that the drone is very deep in the Black Sea, so the United States is not sure that it will be able to pick it up. In Russia, they decided to start raising the drone.

Drone debris recovery vessel, 1913

According to Ukrainian journalist Denis Kazansky, Russia is raising the wreckage of the American Reaper drone from the bottom of the Black Sea with the 1913 Kommuna rescue ship.

The journalist is ironic that the howitzers of the 1950s in service with the Russian army are not yet the limit. “Soon they will drag away to the front what is left of the tsar-father,” Kazansky added.

The vessel “Commune” as of 2023 is part of the Black Sea Fleet. This is the oldest ship of the Russian Navy, and the oldest ship in the world actually in service and performing combat missions. In 2022, the ship was sent to search for the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva missile cruiser, which sank on April 14, 2022 as a result of a missile strike by two R-360 Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles.

What is known about the incident with the MQ-9 Reaper in the Black Sea

• The incident between an American UAV and a Russian Su-27 took place on March 14. The U.S. Department of Defense released a video of the drone being shot down, showing a Russian Su-27 approaching the drone and dropping fuel.
• During the second attempt, he flew as close to the drone as possible, after which one of the MQ-9 Reaper propeller blades was damaged. The US decided to sink the drone due to damage.
• Military experts note that the lost MQ-9 Reaper was at the main Russian base in the occupied Crimea. The UAV could conduct optical reconnaissance thanks to cameras.
• John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the US National Security Council, said that Russia had found the wreckage of a drone in the Black Sea. Washington said it had made it impossible for the Russians to obtain intelligence from the remnants of the drone.