The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, has remarked this Wednesday that Washington “will continue to fly and operate where international law allows it”, a day after, he said, that Russia engaged in “dangerous practices” over space. black sea aerial
In his keynote address at the 10th meeting of the Defense Contact Group in Ukraine, Austin accused Russia of dumping fuel on a US drone that “carried out routines in international airspace” and crashed another of these unmanned aircraft. manned”.
“This dangerous episode is part of a pattern of aggressive, risky and unsafe actions by Russian pilots in international airspace,” Austin protested, calling on all Western partners to redouble efforts for Ukraine to achieve victory.
“So make no mistake. The United States will continue to fly and operate where international law allows”, while “it is up to Russia to operate its military aircraft safely and professionally”, he announced.
On Tuesday, a Russian Air Force SU-27 fighter collided with an American MQ-9 drone over international waters in the Black Sea, according to Washington, which called the maneuver “unsafe and unprofessional.”
“Our MQ-9 aircraft was carrying out routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and struck by a Russian aircraft, which resulted in an impact and the complete loss of the MQ-9”, explained the commander of the Forces United States Armed Forces, James B. Hecker.