Downing of MQ-9 Reaper is Latest US Drone Lost in Contested Zone

Samuel Bendett, an expert at the Center for Naval Analyses, told C4ISRNET Russian media and other parties closely monitor “drone flights in the Black Sea and the proximity to Crimea, publishing flight maps of American drones in that area.” The general sentiment, he said, is “one of anger and resentment that the U.S. has such tools to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance, without an apparent Russian response.”

“Sooner or later,” he continued, “that pent up anger was going to erupt and Russians would respond in one way or another.”

The collision marked the first known physical contact between U.S. and Russian forces since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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