US says drone recovery difficult as Russian warships at crash site

Recovery of a US surveillance drone that crashed after being intercepted by Russian fighter jets would be challenging given the deep waters in the Black Sea, a senior United States general said, as reports emerged of Russian vessels at the crash site.

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said remains of the uncrewed MQ-9 Reaper drone, which the US claims was brought down by one of two Russian Su-27 jets clipping the drone’s propeller, sank in waters as deep as 1,219 to 1,524 meters (4,000 to 5,000 feet).

“It probably sank to some significant depths, so any recovery operation from a technical standpoint would be very difficult,” Milley told reporters on Wednesday. Milley added it would take several days before the US would know for certain the size of the debris field.