The US is evaluating its drone operations in the Black Sea area. They are weighing the costs and benefits of flying after Russia shot down one of the MQ-9 Reaper drones.

Until the US completely stopped flying. While they are analyzing everything.

The US is thinking about further use of drones

US officials said that after the downing of the drone, the US military again sent the same drone model – the MQ-9 Reaper – on a mission in approximately the same area over the Black Sea. He was supposed to examine the crash site and watch the Russians looking for the wreckage.

However, the US military is “taking a close look” at the drone routes and assessing how best to reduce the risk of conflict with the Russian military, who regularly fly fighter jets in and out of Crimea.

The Pentagon plans to analyze the overall costs and benefits of these missions, comparing the potential intelligence value of a particular route against the risk of escalation to Russia.

A senior military official said some US military are concerned that restricting drone routes will affect intelligence gathering related to the war in Ukraine. But the United States has potential intelligence-gathering alternatives, such as spy satellites.

By the way, according to officials, the United States is considering another drone flight over the Black Sea in the coming days.

Beating the MQ-9 Reaper: latest news

• After the Russian Su-27s cynically shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper UAV, they also announced that they would look for its wreckage at the bottom of the Black Sea. The US believes that this has already happened.
• The U.S. Air Force on March 16 released a graphical map showing the approximate locations and times of a Russian fighter jet and an MQ-9 Reaper drone colliding and crashing in the Black Sea.
• By the way, the US command has already published a video of the drone shot down, filmed by the drone's onboard camera.