Don’t be confused. The alleged “collision” between a Russian SU-27 jet fighter and a U.S. Air Force MQ9 Reaper drone was not an accident. Russia was sending an unmistakable message to Washington and its NATO allies — Russian patience with NATO arming and prolonging the war in Ukraine is waning and Russia is prepared to act against targets that enable attacks on Russian forces in Ukraine.
The drone in question was a MQ9 Reaper, not a Global Hawk. While the Reaper can carry a combat load, it is highly likely this one was configured only to do an ISR missions *(i.e., Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance).
The reaction of the United States’ Department of Defense is predicatable and juvenile:
Oh boy. Putin hurt the feelings of General Hecker and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The U.S. was just minding its own business don’t you know. At least that is the line of nonsense the Pentagon is selling to the media. The fact is that this drone was collecting intelligence on Russian forces in Ukraine and that intelligence was going to be used to launch lethal attacks on Russian soldiers and Ukrainian civilians.
What I find particularly interesting is that these drone flights over the Black Sea have been going on since February 2022 and Russia did nothing to interfere with that activity until today. I believe Russia laid down a marker to the United States and its NATO allies — i.e., this is a friendly warning; stop this or we will take stronger action to end your drone spying.
If Russia routinely was flying a spy drone over international waters along the coast of Alaska near a U.S. military base do you think that the Biden team or members of Congress would be unconcerned? Hell, no. They would be demanding action to stop this aggressive act. But this is standard fare for the United States — America will do whatever it wants but will howl like a banshee if it is done to it. Nothing like a big steaming pile of hypocrisy to inspire faux outrage in Washington and London.
Love the fact the Russian pilot pissed fuel all over the drone before knocking it out the sky. That’s one heck of a talented pilot.
So what base is it launched from and what non-Ukrainian airspace does it fly over before reaching “international ” airspace over the Black Sea?
https://theaviationist.com/2021/01/06/the-u-s-air-force-established-a-permanent-base-for-mq-9-reaper-drones-in-romania/
The aerial track I saw showed it leaving this base in Romania.
It was on about a 120 degree heading until it cleared Romania, and then hooked toward Sevastopol.
A bit off the topic, can anyone explain why Russia hasn’t taken out the artillery in Avkiivka that continues to shell Donetsk City?
Shoot and shoot? Fire and maneuver?
Art, when you look at the battle maps? They are starting a encirclement (cauldron) of that area right now. That will be the next Bakhmut. The problem is that the Ukrainians have heavily fortified that area. A lot more than Bakhmut. And unlike what the media says? The Russians are very casualty adverse. They are moving slow and saving their people.
Art, artillery positions are not fortified. They are mobile and that is how they survive.
I don’t think this gels. For months we have read that the Russians were able to detect points of fire and would quickly take them out. This does not square with the constant barrage by Avkiivka. Perhaps Larry may wish to comment on this….
Maybe they have been using Penicillium to destroy Ukrainian artillery? Wild speculation. I hope thats what they have been doing. I have been wondering that too. I know it’s heavily fortified but it seems easy to surround and is causing big problems for innocents.
Avdeevka is anything but easy to surround. That north-south line west of Donetsk City is the most fortifed area in this conflict, and probably in this century. It goes from Ugledar in the south all the way to Bakhmut.
I would assume because it’s well entrenched in civilian areas esp. apartment blocks but what do I know?
I would assume because it’s well entrenched in occupied civilian areas esp. apartment blocks but what do I know?
I’ve been asking similar questions about the shelling for months.
Russian golden showers.
Putin p*ssed on Joe’s parade!
https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxh9w0og__-COhj_VxCr8MuZg3gf6rzFqe
Depraved modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah Americans into their sado BDSM crap love it like a good spanking on their genitals!!! Sadomasochistic screwballs!!!!
Hi
The whole scenario given by General Hecker is false, while the Russian version is not complete.
In reality high speed approach of the fighter jets meters ahead or over the MQ9 will cause severe
turbulence due to the Wake Turbulence Vortex produced by the two engines of each fighter and result by the loss of control of the drone.
missam
That is exactly what many Russian social media also say.
Some say the pilots are trained to do this.
Personally i have no clue tbh, but it is the most reasonable theory so far imo.
Per
Norway
Yeah, Seems only his nose cone could have been used to clip the prop and that’d be something he wouldn’t want to do. Maybe they’ll be fitting 2 meter lances to the nose from now on. But then, the shrapnel might take out the cockpit.
Sounds like a cock and bull story to me.
Exactly. In fact, even CBS “news” said the Russian planes passed by the drone MANY times, and while CBS (mis)reported that the last plane missed and struck the drone (an obvious lie), in fact it accomplished exactly what was intended… to take the drone down by turbulence. Great observation, Missam.
Search for how V1s were toppled during WW2.
👍
In order to deal with this trauma, all US pilots must watch Top Gun for at least a week.
The drone apparently stalled and fell into the sea. The Russians are picking it up. The Romanians could not get there in time.
Great interview with the Judge today! Thanks.
Could you provide a link to this particular Neapolitano interview?
It’s in yesterday’s article.
https://sonar21.com/here-comes-the-judge-we-talk-about-ukraine-china-and-the-u-s-intelligence-community/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fdMHkXGk0I
Thank you
The Russians could take out satellites if they chose to.
I assume they’ll now just take out the next too close for comfort drone with a missile, unless they’ve run out of course.
So can the US take out Russian and Chinese sats if we want to.
That’s a step the Russians wisely do not want to take b/c they know where it leads (hint: very bad for Russia).
All the strum und drang on all sides over a stupid drone sure is nice fodder for a slow news week. Taking down a drone is like shooting fish in a barrel. Even the Iranians brought one, in the same class, down a few years ago – and maybe even retro-engineered its key components. The Russians didn’t shoot it down because they want to recover it in good enough condition that they can study it.
It’s worse for the US than for Russia, because we utilize satelites heavily all around the globe, and the Russians fight their battles close to home where other means of recon are easily available. The REAL problem is that if the US and Russia blind each other, the risk of nuclear war soars from its already high probability. Having some early warning about launches gives the other side time to double check and make calm decisions (not that the US would use that time, but the Russians might). Without that, we’re all on a hair trigger.
Plus the US/NATO relies on satellites for aircraft navigation, Russia trains their pilots to navigate using old fashioned methods like compasses and maps. Our system is fragile, theirs isn’t.
Simplicius76 wrote that this isn’t the first time a Russian pilot did this.
About other “golden showers” in the past (in Russian):
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/8224356.html
Seems to be a lot of crashes in this last month, from trains to banks to drones, waiting for the big crash.
Nikitas my friend, Nikitas. They’ve been in the US since the 50s!!!!
If we’re all lucky, the big crash will come early enough to head off the big boom.
Put the gnomes to work patching up their own house before knocking down the neighbors’.
A few things you missed out:
1. The drone was flying with, and this is admitted even by pro Ukranazi channels, its transponder off. Why was a done with its transponder off flying within 60 km of the Crimean coast? This is an important factor in why the drone was brought down, if that is, it was. At 60 km off Crimea the drone sensors could map the entire Russian force deployment all the way to the Zaporozhye front where the nazi offensive is expected.
2. The Russian version is that the drone crashed while attempting evasive manoeuvres to escape the Russian fighters. This may or may not be true, and is probably irrelevant, but it needs to be said anyway.
3. Russia claims to have already recovered some of the drone debris and since it crashed in shallow water should be able to get it all.
The bit about “environmentally unsound” was hilarious….except to the Serbian, Iraqi, and Vietnamese whose children are still suffering from Amerikastani depleted uranium and Agent Orange, that is.
If the Russians already picked the debris, then they knew where it would crash. Bringing it down was planned.
How long do you need to get out about 60km to recover something? I don’t think this was “planned”.
The US clearly tried to spy on Russian troops and their toy was knocked out of the sky, because talking to those bubble-heads in the US doesn’t seem to work. From what I saw in the news, they pretty much got the message now. The coping and crying from so called public representatives is epic. But they already cancelled the other planned starts of their spy-toys today, so the message was understood. All that huffing and puffing and nothing will happen. Same as when Iran knocked out their Global Hawk from the skies. That is the only message the US will ever understand.
Sheesh, take it easy. It’s a stupid drone. Do you think the US couldn’t foresee such a thing being shot down? Do you think the US military really cares? No one got hurt or killed. It wasn’t like a Russian victory in aerial combat against a US pilot. There’s no cause to get your America hating muscles all swelled up.
Good chance the drone was studying Crimea for the planning of the NATO/Ukro attack on it. OTOH, it may have been sacrificed to study Russian capabilities, response times, etc. in that area. Believe it or not, contrary to what you’ve allowed yourself to become convinced of, the US is capable of being crafty.
Obviously the Russians picked up the drone’s flight path and discussed what to do about it, how and where. IMO both sides are offering up BS stories as to how the drone was actually downed. At any rate, the Russians and, soon, the Chinese now have an opportunity to study the thing.
Sheesh, take it easy. It’s a stupid drone.
No, it was a smart drone commented on by a stupid commentator. 😉
Pentagon had a committee of 10 working on the ‘environmentally unsound’ part for a whole day. 6 voted for the wording as is and 4 wanted ‘an unprovoked attack on the climate’ instead.
Sounds like the Chinese spy ballon baloney.. lol
2 days ago the US flew a B-52 Nuclear Bomber from Germany over the Baltic Sea straight toward Sct. Petersburg.
Today the US flew a Spy drones from Romania over the Black Sea toward the Russian base in Crimea with its Transponder turned off, and the US complains that Russia bought down the drone.
The US should stop provoking war in Europe.
Yankee go home.
That was NATO’s retaliation/intimidation against Russia’s 2nd Kinzhal attack hiting NATO’s Western Command Center, 80 meters Underground, were 40 NATO high ranking personnel were killed.
https://www.theinteldrop.org/2023/03/09/2nd-kinzhal-attack-hits-natos-western-command-center-400-feet-underground-40-killed/
The West is getting an itchy trigger finger.
at least it was unmanned and not the us liberty
Bingo!
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/soviet-kamikaze.html?edg-c=1
Not saying that the Russian pilot rammed. I think the afterburner in the face has a lot of credence. But the above article is rather fascinating. During World War 2, the Russians employed aerial ramming OVER 600 times. A lot of this was with the fabulous Yak that was a flying tank. But still. Balls that clank.
And my Google Fu is weak. But during the Cold War, the Russians dumped fuel quite a few times on intruding US aircraft. I can distinctly remember one article with an interview with the Soviet pilot.
And of course, in 1988, there was the USS Caron incident where a US ship was “lightly” rammed by two Soviet ships.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4jQhnXrWbg
I guess the loons in Washington, DC are going to fuck around and find out till all of our eyes melt out of heads in the nuclear fire.
Proud to die for Raytheon and swastika waving Ukrainian Nazi’s!!!!
Proud to die too, and proud to see my family melt around me as we sing god bless the rich.
Where is RQ4 FORTE10?
Stopped transmitting 08.40CET
This is payback for what we did to Comrade Balloon.
The first balloon was deemed by Norad as routine “not to worry”, “happens all the time” incident and refused to waste a missile. Some Neocon insisted that the military carry out civilian orders and ended up shooting it. So when the $12 student balloon floated up, Norad said we do what the MFs say and we shoot it with a $400k sidewinder. So stick it up your Corvette’s tail pipe.
I blame it all on the Founding Fathers and their failure to put a no confidence vote clause in the Bill of Rights. Maybe they figured the right to bear arms was enough to show ‘no confidence’.
Speaking of which, isn’t it interesting how the “spy balloon”, supposedly recovered after the shootdown, has completely disappeared from the news? No government honchos boasting about all the high-tech Chinese “espionage” equipment retrieved??
Kinda makes you wonder, huh?…;^)
Doesn’t make me wonder. Makes me reassured that it was the usual cock & bull story. If the stock market were as predictable as that bunch, Elon Musk would be pulling weeds out of my garden. In a way, he already is.
Where are USA Drones being launched from? Romania? Poland? Surely that’s a legitimate target? As well as Ukraine Military HQ in Kyiv. I guess Russia just keeps these up their sleeve to escalate to if & when needed?
This one came from Romania. Attacking it’s point of origin would be an act of war against NATO, which is a thing Russians do not want, for now.
Many is saying the downed bird is even the bigger bird, the Global Hawk. If true, then the boys at Sukhoi and Ulan Ude will have a pretty expensive toy to play with.
A lot of mockery seems to be talking about how “environmentally unsound” this is.
But that aside, still wondering about where this occurred, and whether its really “routine”.
Lastly, if someone can educate me, what is a “professional conduct” in such cases? If it was a manned craft, you can speak to the pilot and order them to leave. Can they do the same to a drone? What should they have done?
Or should they follow US’s very professional conduct, calling China for an explanation over a weather balloon, which China complied, but US shot it down nonetheless. So probably I suppose Russia should send US an email “We are going to shoot down your drone” before they actually do it to show “professionalism”?
Not to forget how much professionalism they have shown shooting down school project hobby balloons without stern warnings to the owners first. Wonder if they have arrested the poor kids for espionage for spying over the US yet, or start labelling them as the greatest threats to the US. Personally rather curious how the pilot who shot down the balloon felt.
“Pilot to base. Flying object seen. Its… a balloon like the one my kid released. You sure I should take it down with a missile? Really? Noted. Firing now.”
At least the Russian pilot had a drone target.
Perhaps the most nonsensical claim yet. Heavy intercontinental jets typically have the ability to dump fuel to lighten the aircraft to safe landing weight in the event of an issue that forces them to land prior to burning enough fuel to put them below safe landing weight. Most medium to short range commercial airliners lack this capability. I doubt that ANY fighter aircraft possess this capability, there would be no reason for it. Besides it would be “environmentally unsound”, hahaha. 30 years ATC, ZNY.
“I doubt that ANY fighter aircraft possess this capability, there would be no reason for it.”
I don’t have definitive info on this, maybe some do and some don’t, but I gotta believe that fighter aircraft design has to anticipate landing damaged under extreme conditions where dumping fuel would surely be good idea.
US fighter jets were jettisoning whole fuel tanks on towns in Japan. They lied about where they dumped them at first, too, but there’s photos of the tanks and fuel right in town.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/12/273e1cff8ce2-japan-seeks-probe-on-us-jet-dumping-fuel-tanks-before-landing.html
There’s links to other incidents. Sounds like the planes have lots of problems.
Fighters do have this capability, for the same reason you mention above for heavy intercontinental jets.
ALL tactical aircraft have the capability to dump fuel and exercise it often.
Wasn’t John McCain one of the original test pilots for that function?
Rx is very smart. Every time I read some bullshit take by people commenting, or PCRoberts types that trashes Rx for the way that they are running this show, I am a little astonished about how limited they are in their thinking.
Generally it’s a Teddy Roosevelt typical USA MO of charging up San Juan Hill and decimating those brown skins to the last living soul. The fantasy betrays the mindset of just about all pre-uncontrolled immigration period Americans still living.
They just cannot grasp that there are other cultures that operate outside the John Wayne type of big mouthed swaggering American gunslinger that mows down the opposition without breaking a sweat and then rides off into the sunset with the local hottie close in stride.
Observing and LISTENING, that odd gift that Americans seldom indulge in, to Mr. Putin, and Lavrov for that matter, seems obvious to me that they are extremely gifted and rational people. They do not seem to be encumbered by the frivolous and illogical obsessions that our leaders in the west are over their heads in. They have the definitive advantage culturally, historically, educationally, and most important stratigicly to pull this military action off in their self-defined terms of success. They have a PLAN! One of magical and mysterious accessories that the USA and Co. can only dream about in their current state of delirious bliss.
I never under estimate the capacity of an obviously motivated and determined adversery, and much less one with the military capabilities of Mr. Putins Russia.
I hear it said that Russia is second to China in military power. Bullshit. China has numerical superiority but in today’s reality it is not the determining factor. Russia is gaining incalculable potential and experience in this Ukraine fiasco.
They are taking their time in a calculated way with their heads squarely focused on the Sun Tzu, The Way.
This is far and above Shock and Awe with a 3rd rate adversery.
USA hype is running on empty in this match. I know who my money is on.
Enjoyed your post and agree with your assessment of Putin and Lavrov. Very serious and diplomatic men in contrast with their frivolous and ill-mannered American and EU counterparts. The last American president of their caliber was John Kennedy who sought a genuinely peaceful coexistence with the USSR.
I guess if you consider an act of war against Cuba (Naval Blockade), peaceful, Kennedy would qualify. If not, maybe we should look back in history a little further.
His admirals wanted to launch a full scale invasion against tactical nukes armed and ready to sink them, without their knowledge of course.
I’d say JFK saved our asses and deserves our thanks. Where is he when you need him most?
Numerical superiority has its undeniable value. An interview of a Chinese high official, a few years back, ( I can’t recall the name and date), answered a US interviewer on the question of US technological superiority. He said: something on the lines that a US advanced aircraft costing (back then) a 100 million Dollars, might have 50 Missiles. He continued to say: would build 51 aircraft for half of that cost and when your advanced aircraft shot 50 of our aircraft and was out of ammo, our last and 51rst aircraft would shoot down yours and our aircraft would control the skies.
Obviously the Chinese official did not understand that the point was to make $$ not actually avoid losing in battle.
“Woke Warfighting and Diplomacy” as in “environmentally unsound.”
When are the Russians going to knock down the AWACS and P8s feedingvtargeting info to thevUks and NATO/US skulch killing Russian troops? Plus finally shutting down Starlink and satellite ISR feeds doing the same? Seems to me all that US/NATO activity constitutes acts of war.
The shock will be when a Western politician observes a politician who actually follows through with their word. The awe will be when Western arms dealers see that these low cost weapons do what they are reported to be capable of doing, as opposed to hyped marketing claims from US MIC suppliers.
One thing is for sure, whatever the drone, the Flanker continues to be better looking. One of the most beautiful aircraft, if not the most beautiful, that man has ever built! And about the episode, I agree with Larry, even though it is a sign, it is still an escalation of the war!
By the way, many question why Russia let the West cross so many red lines?! When at the beginning of the conflict NATO didn’t even want to hear about transferring the Polish MIG 29 to Ukraine remember? After 8 years of dumping weapons in a country that never belonged to NATO and under the Budapest Neutrality Treaty. As Finland is also still under a Neutrality Treaty with Russia, despite already being used by NATO to boast when it is about to lose Turkey that as a member of NATO is worth more than 100 Finlandias.
But back to the question why did Russia let the West go so far namely providing weapons in wartime that any normal person interprets as a co-belligerent? As Analena Baerbock even expressed it! And the answer is very simple. Because Russia besides being the only adult in this conflict, that did everything to avoid this conflict continues to do everything to avoid a WWIII! Centuries of history and wars give it the wisdom that there is no point in threatening the co-belligerents with arms supplies until it is willing to carry out the threat and bomb a capital like Berlin! It would only weaken Russia further. Like many US bluffs! Until the day!
💯
well Russia could start flying drones or similar things near military bases in Alaska and then we would all see the bs.
Anyhow, my view is, I do hope that from now on any US drone in the area will be shot down.
I would speculate that RF hit the MQ-9 Reaper with EW and either blocked or took out its Comms. If the RF is really good, they blocked the MQ-9’s home signal and replaced it with theirs and flew it into the sea.
The Americans should have learnt a lesson from the way the Iranians spoofed the stealth drone and hijacked it.
As in, don’t *ever* attempt to get the drone to fly itself back to base.
As soon as contact with the drone operator is lost the onboard computer should assume that a hijacking attempt is taking place. and immediately put the drone into an unrecoverable spin.
Why a spin and a crash with limited debris field? Something better is already implemented. Yet despite all that, the drone was compromised.
Actually when Iranians captured the reaper intact they used the Russian ew / anti-drone technology to do that. I bet the same tech was used this time to drive the point to thick American generals heads one more time.
That is what Pepe Escobar indicates in a recent tweet. No idea if true, but if so, it would certainly be embarrassing to the US – and the Russian’s may not need to publicly embarrass the US (while sending a serious warning).
My question, though, is why now? Odessa in the target sights?
The biggest fun in Russian blogs now is to post a story about “the unnamed intelligence sources state that it was a group af Ukranians who dropped the drone. They’ve rented a balloon in Romania, dropped the drone an flew away, the smell they left behind also show defenitely some american traces.
Russia says the plane crashed by maneovring too quick. 20 years ago I would not have believed them but now with out D&I military blowing up children in Kabul cars — I think this is very likely true. The drone operator had 2 female parents.
By the way, the photo you posted is of a Ukrainian SU27: the Ukrainian shield tail flash is clearly visible.
“If Russia routinely was flying a spy drone over international waters along the coast of Alaska near a U.S. military base do you think that the Biden team or members of Congress would be unconcerned? Hell, no… ”
“If the Canadian Government and Parliament had forbidden Quebec to speak and teach their children and use French in official venues under pain of military attack, what would France do… ?” In addition to all the nazi infrastructure needed to carry out such genocide – which is not well hidden in Canadian officialdom for decades now (concerning its indigenous people)
“If the Irish Government and Parliament had forbidden Northern Ireland to speak and teach their children and use English in official venues (having made Gaelic their official language) under threat of military attack, what would the British Government do… ?”
(They would probably send weapons to help the Irish finish off the slaughter – nevertheless, the point is made)
“environmentally unsound”
U.S. Military Produces More Greenhouse Gas Emissions Than up to 140 Countries
The U.S. military is one of the largest polluters in history, consuming more liquid fuels and emitting more climate-changing gases than most medium-sized countries. If the U.S. military were a country, its fuel usage alone would make it the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, sitting between Peru and Portugal.
https://www.newsweek.com/us-military-greenhouse-gases-140-countries-1445674
Only a polluter if one believes the global warming nonsense. An alternative view is that it is producing and spreading more plant food than most countries in the world.
I am waiting for them to come up with Negative Emissions Ordnance, where every shell fired actually scrubs the atmosphere of CO2. That will be a real game changer for humanity and really give the Greens motivation to go to war! (hehehe)
Funny how the biggest polluters are the biggest accusatory gasbags.
“we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely” USAF Gen Hecker
Well, (1) they downed an enemy aircraft being used to gather intelligence which would get Russians killed, a tick for “professional”. (2) they returned unharmed to base, a tick for “safely”.
What’s the general’s beef?
“What’s the general’s beef?”
Overcooked, I’d say. 🙂
This was the “Chinese” retaliation for their “heavily armed” balloon …
The dumped fuel goes in to the drone’s turbo prop air intake; engine over speeds, drone over speeds and becomes difficult to control; propellor flies apart due to over speed and centrifugal forces.
The dumped fuel goes in the intake making the mixture too rich to burn plus over-cooling the compressed charge in the burner section, and the engine has a flame-out, plus, the cool, raw liquid droplets hitting the compressor turbine blades going 30,000 rpm will do some serious damage that would throw the whole thing seriously out of balance.
The US doesn’t even need drones near their border to freak out.
12 dollar toy balloons easily lead to a nervous breakdown.
What? Someone blew up Nordstream I&II? You dont say…
FWIW…
“It appears that a US surveillance RQ4 Global Hawk drone, callsign “FORTE10” went missing at 8:40:58 CET (Central European Time). The drone flew within 18 nautical miles of the Russian coastline. It was cruising at an altitude of 52k feet.”
https://t.me/DonbassDevushka/48481
One wonders if it wasn’t sent out to search for traces of the MQ9.
If it stays missing, one may further wonder if it wasn’t also brought down and both sides agreed to bury the 2nd incident. 18nm would be a blatant airspace violation and may also be the reason its flight path has been scrubbed (cit. MonkeyWerx).
As for all the collision/fuel dump/propeller talk, the Ru MoD said no contact was made. I suspect something like the Su-27 pulling some stunt nearby throwing the MQ9’s gyroscopes for a loop which the operator couldn’t recover from.
What exactly do they feed officials in the West to make them so sanctimonious???
The matured and restrained manners that the Russians continue to prosecute the war is quite baffling!
they feed them the myth of American Exceptionalism
I live 120 kms due south of Sigonella Naval Base in Sicily which is the US and NATO’s Aerial Ground Surveillance headquarters for all of Europe, Africa and Asia. It houses 5 RQ-4 Global Hawk megadrones like the one the Iranians shot down a few years ago. When we go full SHTF mode, we all know here in Sicily that the base will more than likely be hit with a tactical nuke by Russia as well as a few other sites up in Northern Italy where the US has strategic and tactical bases. To underscore the worry of a perceived threat, NATO navies are all in a hissy fit in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas trying to track Russian subs and surface ships that have been making constant incursions into this very strategic part of the Mediterranean. My hunch: some of those subs and surfaces ships have a secret supply of Zircons in their weapons hold area.
Hello Peppe, I live in Sardinia in Cagliari. We have the Decimo air base which however should now be used only for pilot training so it would not be a good target for the Russians.
To find out if you need to start worrying go to this site:
https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/
Simulate a 300 kiloton explosion (the typical power of a Russian atomic bomb) on Sigonella and see if it can reach your home.
120km is far, you can be safe 😉
You and Peppe want to find me one of those 1€ Italian villas ?
3/4 serious
Exile, those 1 Euro villas are not that much of a bargain as some people think. They are complete do-overs which need major renovations and repairs that will cost you into the tens of thousands of euros. Sicily here launched the project a while back and now other regions are copying it. Find a location first that you like and then do some research to see if the town has this program. The towns who offer this are usually small hill-side ones but often very charming that have been basically depopulated due to emigration since the 1940-50s. For example, Buccheri in my province of Siracusa at 850 metres above seal level could be an occasion to look into. Best olive oil in all the world!!!
Grazie Nicola per la dritta! Stammi bene!!
Oh my God, gentlemen, what are you thinking about? Frightening yourself and others with inappropriate fantasies.
I was in Sicily. From 2011 to 2019, I traveled almost all of Italy from Milan, Verona and Venice to Naples and Palermo. Rome and San Marino, of course.
In my opinion, Italy is the most beautiful country in Europe, despite the fact that it looks modest and even neglected in places. I love Italy. And I like Italians. I am sure that my opinion is shared by the vast majority of Russians, even if they have never been to Italy. I do not admit the idea that Russia will ever subject Italy to a nuclear attack – whether there are NATO bases there or not. It is unacceptable to destroy such a beautiful place on the planet – no political motives can justify this.
And further. What evil did Italy and the Italians cause to Russia? None! Live calmly. Peace be with you.
I shot the European National Pistol Championships in Italia one year. Lovely people. A lovely country. When you house NATO weapons there that are used against Russia? They will be targeted. Italy and the rest of Europe will burn when the US pushes this to a horrible conclusion. You can’t base weapons, supply weapons, and kill Russian soldiers and then play the “but we are nice” card.
No, Curt, the United States will not be able to hide behind the Europeans, as Ukrainian troops do, hiding behind civilians in cities.
If the United States really wants to unleash a big war in Europe and get away with it, which they themselves muddied, then Russia’s task is to prevent this.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that Russia is now using the tactic of drawing US troops into Ukraine for punishment. The US hopes to let the Poles take the lead, but the Poles have not won a single war in the past 400 years. In addition to the Poles, there is no one in Europe who wants to fight for the salvation of US hegemony. Europe will not burn. If you want to fight with Russia – please yourself.
The US has too many bases scattered around the world – potential targets for Zircons and Poseidons. Rome, Berlin and Paris will suffer only after Washington. But I don’t think it will come to that.
I sincerely hope you are right my friend. But Europe is playing a dangerous game. They want to send weapons to kill Russian soldiers, but pretend they are not involved in the war. And my country, the USA, is clinically insane. When the nukes start flying? No one will be spared. But again, I hope you are right. I would like to see Italy again. https://twitter.com/TClash2022/status/1636185851884347393
A happy picture of me in Livigno, Italy. With a 1st place trophy that was a bitch getting back on the airplane.
Thanks, Kurt, for the good wishes. Only the photo does not open for me. And I so wanted to look into your face and eyes. Alas…
I was a little surprised by how meek the US response was: “environmentally unsound”, “unprofessional”, “we will express our concern”, etc.
Big dogs sometimes pee on puppies just to show them who the boss is.
The US now behaves like that wet little puppy complaining that the top dog by the name of Russia didn’t give him time to close his eyes first.
Hej på er allihopa!
Why should the russians attack the drone that way?
Please note: It was The US European Command who claimed that one of the two Russian Su-27 warplanes hit the drone’s propeller to make it crash into the Black Sea!
Maybe the russians simply used their mobile electronic warfare systems… (remember https://news.usni.org/2017/05/01/official-russia-installs-system-crimea-snoop-u-s-destroyers-jam-communications?).
TASS wrote today: “… the drone went into uncontrolled flight before losing altitude and crashing into the sea. The ministry stressed that the Russian aircraft did not use on-board weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle…” (https://tass.com/politics/1588845).
Shouldn’t we wait a little bit more before drawing any conclusions and summarize these events prematurely … ?
Mvh Ingo
Rättvik / Sweden
Hmmm? Someone mentioned Teddy Roosevelt, I thought USS, which made me wonder about Dr Keshe,s supposed MAGRAV Progam. Lights out, Lights out in London:)
Any sensible air defense seeing a plane with no IFF near it’s airspace would send a patrol. This is a standard process. If the said plane can be a danger and don’t change course after com or signaling , it’s deemed a bogey and a bogey going to your airspace is fox material.
The only question asked by this technique ; would it be a fox 0 or a fox 5 ?
There is a post about how MQ-9 Reaper drones “come with air-to-air missiles.”
Just imagine the level of delusion of the US military and the US government to claim a drone could take on a Russian SU-27.
Next will be the propaganda about the “MQ-9: The most feared drone on Earth.”
Guess we can cancel that order for F-16s to the Ukraine. Just send in the drones.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=79ca32a9e7b12600JmltdHM9MTY3ODgzODQwMCZpZ3VpZD0wZDlkZGI0MC05NzA5LTZmZjgtM2VmNC1jOTNjOTY3NzZlOGUmaW5zaWQ9NTE5NA&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=0d9ddb40-9709-6ff8-3ef4-c93c96776e8e&psq=MQ-9+reaper+drones+come+with+air-to-air+missiles&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZHJpdmUuY29tL3RoZS13YXItem9uZS95ZXMtdGhlLW1xLTktY2FuLWRlZmVuZC1pdHNlbGYtd2l0aC1haXItdG8tYWlyLW1pc3NpbGVz&ntb=1
The claim that because this drone was flying in “international airspace” it was immune to attack is nonsense.
Russia and Ukraine are fighting an “armed conflict”. Both of them therefore have authority granted to them by international humanitarian law a.k.a. The Laws of War.
As in: neither are beholden to laws of freedom of navigation that apply during peacetime, precisely because they are operating in wartime.
Simply put: a belligerent power has the authority to impose limitations at sea and in the sky in the areas over which that armed conflict is taking place.
There is no disputing this: naval blockades can be imposed by a belligerent power, and such blockades are ALWAYS declared in international waters (restricting your blockade only to the 15 mile territorial limit of your opponent is a great way to have your own navy sunk in very quick time).
The same is true of air space: it doesn’t matter that this is international airspace *in* *peacetime* precisely because as far as Russia and Ukraine is concerned this isn’t peacetime.
Russia has said – quite explicitly – that for the duration of this SMO it is imposing its military authority over the air space above the Black Sea.
It is perfectly entitled to do so by international humanitarian law, provided only that:
1) There is an armed conflict, and they are one of the belligerent powers
2) The area of that military authority (and its duration) are defined and published
3) That authority is “effective” e.g. they are not being frivolous.
Russia has ticked all those boxes, and so it is Beyond Provocative for the USAF to be flying warplanes – even unmanned warplanes – into that zone.
Doing so is a direct challenge to the military authority of a belligerent power in a time of armed conflict, and so that belligerent is perfectly entitled to take action against that warplane.
No explanation needed. No apologies required.
This particular belligerent power TOLD EVERYONE not to go into this war zone, and yet the USAF did exactly that.
I mean, honestly, the concept of a “no-fly zone” is one that every reader of this blog must have heard a hundred times. A thousand times.
Only, somehow – and it is never explained how – the “rules-based international order” doesn’t apply to the USA.
Well, so sorry, it does.
Take it on the chin, Austin.
Put it down to experience, Milley.
The Russians called your bluff.
The only smart play is to fold and walk away from the table.
Great post.
Yes, excellent.
Are you sure it wasn’t a hawk? Video footage released from Russia (via Intel Slava Z):
https://teleg.eu/intelslava/45849?single
The perfumed princes of the Pentagram still think they are operating over Iraqi space.
They cannot comprehend that they are fighting a peer opponent.
“peer opponent”? I suspect that the Russians have realized that the US military is no longer their peer.
Spot on. Matters not if in “International” waters/airspace.
Breaking news about the drone from Intel Slava Z:
Russia released a video of its fighter alongside the downed Reaper.
Interestingly, the MQ-9 was equipped with a VERY advanced surveillance system. The Gorgon Stare, as the video confirms.
China, Russia and Iran have had problems in this area, where the US actually has a significant advantage. If Russia recovers the remains of this surveillance system it could be very interesting for study.
Recall that the US previously refused to supply the MQ-9 to Ukraine for fear that it would be shot down and the Russians would study it.
Not only did this happen, but the downed aircraft was carrying one of NATO’s most advanced surveillance systems.
Apparently the video they used as proof is a fake/illustration. I shoudda known when typing “breaking news” and “Intel Slava”. My bad.
I haven’t been able to find confirmation of this but I would expect planning protocols for drone sorties to change taking into account Russia’s new position.
From: https://t.me/DonbassDevushka/48554
“NATO Commander-in-Chief Europe Christopher Cavoli has reportedly canceled several MQ-9 Reaper UAV missions scheduled for today.
In total, the plans included three sorties of drones: from Italy in the direction of the Crimea, from Lithuania in the direction of Kaliningrad. And the third from Romania in the direction of Lvov.”
I don’t understand how News know that the Su- aircraft dumped fuel on the Drone MQ-9.
The camera of the MQ-9 in under the front of the head the drone, where is the video showing the reckless Su-27 maneuver. Thanks Larry for the report.
The video is either classified or does not exist (except in the world of propaganda and the “Fog of War.”
The missing video is in the same file as the satellite video showing the downing of MH-17 9 years ago, which then Secretary Kerry promised us.
Please don’t get me started.
All “News” reports what they are told to report. Period. It’s not like they had a “reporter” on-site up there at the time.
On the subject of Soviet pioneering aerial fighting techniques, the Spanish press was reporting the finding of the wreck of the first German bomber downed by night. And yes, once again, the Russians, through patience, skill and good intelligence were the ones to accomplish the feat.
The following is behind a paywall but there may be other outlets carrying these news:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2023-03-09/hallado-en-madrid-el-primer-avion-nazi-derribado-en-combate-nocturno.html?outputType=amp
Free in English here:
https://english.elpais.com/spain/2023-03-09/first-nazi-bomber-to-be-shot-down-at-night-discovered-on-spanish-civil-war-front-in-madrid.html
Not buying the Pentagon’s story, fuel jettison possibly, but a fast jet like a Sukhoi clipping the propeller on the rear of the Reaper? Even a seasoned aviator would not be that suicidal, more likely the the drone operator lost control attempting evasive maneuvers.
Well what could we have here?
In 2012, if some might recall, Iran pulled out of the sky, and landed, almost intact with little damage a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel, one of the most advanced stealth drones the Empire had at the time, After examining it under major protestations from the Obama Admin., after examing it, Iran handed it back to the US. Here is one source:
https://gizmodo.com/has-iran-killed-this-advanced-us-stealth-plane-update-5864883
Some might also remember what happened to the USS Donald Cook on April 10th, 2014 when the Russians disabled the propulsion system and fried all its on board circuits, demorolizing the whole crew? The USS Donald Sitting Duck had to be towed to port out of its illegal entry into the Black Sea. Here is the story;
https://thesurvivalmovement.com/what-really-happened-to-the-uss-donald-cook-in-the-black-sea/
And, now this with the RQ-9 falling out of the sky with an alleged story from the Empire of Lies, of a carnival worker’s trick of spewing fuel and igniting it. RT has a little sentence at the end of the article on the incident, mentioning Russia indicated it recovered some debri from the drone.
Like the Iranians who pulled it down, and the Russians frying the USS Donald Cook’s systems, I would venture to bet that the Russians landed it intact and are keeping what is necessary under cover of a crash to keep the US from worrying about the RQ-9 falling under Russian examination.
Back in 2012 and 2014, a great deal of leaks on the Net, indicated that Russia, Iran and China had advanced Magrav technology based on Maxwell’s neglected physics. When you put all this together and consider at least the potency of EW Russia unveiled to the USS Donald Cook, one begins to reconsider if Magrav technology is here. If so, then any US electronics, including guided ordinance, conventional and nuclear are vulnerable leaving the idea of mutual destruction a fable. God help us all in the West.
You really should stay away from that fantasy stuff. Russia has top-notch EW systems, but it can’t fry an ship engine or steal a remotely controlled drone. There are a lot of nuts out there blogging all sorts of imaginary stories to make people believe them.
Top Gun… you should not dismiss something just because it’s beyond your psychological comfort level or your lack of an education in physics. Read the article I referenced, read more than one article. Here is something you don’t know, the wire circuitry on the USS Donald Cook has been replaced with fiber optics. Magrav is a real science and the Russians, Iranians and Chinese are far advanced than the US is in this field. Furthermore, these defensive systems were offered to the Obama administration in 2012 in the hopes of ending wars between nations. Before you spread doubt, when some of us are serious about imparting our knowledge to others in our fight to expose evil, do your bit instead of acting like a troll from behind a keyboard without any argument.
I wouldn’t call it fantasy stuff like the polite Top Gum does. I’d call it a bunch of crap.
So you are impolite.
Yes. What the Iranians did was remarkable. Also, way outside my area of knowledge, but seems reasonable that it could be done if the frequencies could be hijacked/overridden. I’ve never seen/heard a plausible counter that explains how the Iranians did what they did. The only other explanation I can think of is that the drone pilot was working for the Iranians, but I think we would all know that story by now if it happened.
Regarding the USS Donald Cook – the story of fried circuits seems to me to be complete BS implanted into our information flow and originating with the Russians. Just so much more BS that all sides spew to demoralize, disorientate, instill fear and a sense of crisis, etc.
Here is the very good Larry Johnson segment from Judge Napolitano’s Judging Freedom Podcast. https://omny.fm/shows/judging-freedom/u-s-intelligence-group-think-on-steroids-larry-joh
Russia “probably” waited till now due to insufficient preparation for a true war w/ NATO/US. The fact they just did this means they are NOW READY!!!! Question is: are NATO/US ready????
Pepe Escobar on Twitter (6hrs ago):
https://twitter.com/RealPepeEscobar
So apparently–according to USAF standards–it’s “safe and professional” to fly an ISR drone in international airspace with its transponder off…who do these guys think they are fooling–the majority of the American public I suppose.
The average American probably thinks a “transponder” is someone pondering about becoming a tranny, and if the transponder is “turned off” it’s because they’re trans-phobic. Of course that would mean they should be shot down, and cancelled.
I am disappointed that Larry missed the importance of the word “unsafe.”
Unsafe for whom? The drone was not manned. Whatever maneuver the Russian pilots carried out could only be potentially unsafe for themselves. Our enemies! This shows that the US places protecting human lives above political considerations. I call it a humanitarian concern.
Also, dumping fuel on the drone to destroy its spying/communication equipment was an irresponsible disregard for the environment because whatever fuel did not evaporate was sure to drip into the sea killing innocent civilian fish!
I wish Larry would be a bit more objective.
Very unsafe. The drone pilot suffered emotional damage, not to mention Greta Thunberg.
Taibbi: Oh, please, do go easy on me, Mr. Democrat. Here, I’ll throw you a bone.
“I spent several years in Russia as a journalist in the 90’s, early 20’s. I had many friends among the local journalists, several of whom didn’t make it, they ended up dead after Putin came to power. I’ve seen autocracies at work, that’s why I’m so concerned about what’s happening here”
Implication: “Some journalists were being murdered when Putin came to power. Never before, just after – my gosh. He’s a horrible autocrat. Maybe they were uncovering government corruption and that’s why they were murdered and maybe they were investigating criminal activity (like Browder maybe?) or others, maybe linked maybe not to the government, but I’ll let you assume the former and make all kinds of hay over it because I’m really a good Democrat and liberal, so please go easy on me.”
Punk
I assume that was a whole lott’a sarcasm from Ariadne.
PS: I’ve been watching Taibbi being grilled in Congress. I admire what he did but he’s a punk. Forget his cracking voice, he still folds like a cheap umbrella.
Well what could we have here?
In 2012, if some might recall, Iran pulled out of the sky, and landed, almost intact with little damage a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel, one of the most advanced stealth drones the Empire had at the time, After examining it under major protestations from the Obama Admin., Iran handed it back to the US. Here is one source:
https://gizmodo.com/has-iran-killed-this-advanced-us-stealth-plane-update-5864883
Some might also remember what happened to the USS Donald Cook on April 10th, 2014 when the Russians disabled the propulsion system and fried all its on board circuits, demorolizing the whole crew? The USS Donald Sitting Duck had to be towed to port out of its illegal entry into the Black Sea. Here is the story;
https://thesurvivalmovement.com/what-really-happened-to-the-uss-donald-cook-in-the-black-sea/
And, now this with the RQ-9 falling out of the sky with an alleged story from the Empire of Lies, of a carnival worker’s trick of spewing fuel and igniting it. RT has a little sentence in the end of the article on the incident, mentioning Russia indicated it recovered some debri from the drone. Like the Iranians who pulled it down, and the Russians frying the USS Donald Cook’s systems, I would venture to bet that the Russians landed it intact and are keeping what is necessary under cover of a crash to keep the US from worrying about the RQ-9 falling under Russian examination.
Back in 2012 and 2014, a great deal of leaks on the Net, indicated that Russia, Iran and China had advanced Magrav technology based on Maxwell’s neglected physics. When you put all this together and consider at least the potency of EW Russia unveiled to the USS Donald Cook, one begins to reconsider if Magrav technology is here. If so then any US electronics, including guided ordinance, conventional and nuclear are vulnerable leaving the idea of mutual destruction a fable. God help us all in the West.
https://magrav.org/
Dot Org? really? (not dot ru ay?)
Anyway, your post got me to thinking about the amount of scammers who use various opportunities to sucker naive people into various funding/purchasing/gaslighting for profit schemes. So my intention here in this post I would like to state plainly at the get go – (you) left an opportunity for me to shitpost, and I am taking it with the following. —
(Double posting always produces many more new marks than just posting it once ay?)
So I thought I would have a little fun here with the super secret hidden technology known world wide to be ignored by western scientists and fully researched by scientists in the eastern hemisphere, as “MAGRAV Technology”.
And what Western World destroying technology did this produce for the Russians?
Why, Skin Care products of course!!! For everyone knows that clean healthy skin is anethema to body part destroying Westerners!
For how could one detest the clean beautiful skin of anyone using such technology? How would the West ever convince adults and children to cut off their private parts and sew horrors beyond human comprehension onto their now destroyed bodies, if they are not repulsed by their natural state of being!
I tell you, we have to stop these diabolical Russians now, before everyone realizes their are only two genders!
Translated with software from their product page –
MAGRAV is a cosmetics manufacturing plant that has gained a reputation as a reliable partner not only in Moscow and the Moscow region, but throughout Russia and neighboring countries.
Our cosmetics are widely known to the consumer and are in consistently high demand.
The quality of our products is constantly improving – we try to take into account the latest trends in the cosmetic industry and introduce advanced technological developments in our production.
MULTISCRUB
The Multiscrub series is designed to help solve imperfections and improve the appearance of your skin.
NATURAL BEAUTY
Products of the Natural Beauty series do not contain bright dyes and aggressive fragrances. But in their composition you will find natural extracts of chamomile and aloe
(etc etc etc…)
———————
Smile fren. It’s a tough arena for glowing troons. Which gives ample opportunity for jesters to use their natural immunity from prosecution to troll the trollers and their glowbright frens who are both collectively known as “gaslighters”.
Larry’s question “What I find particularly interesting is that these drone flights over the Black Sea have been going on since February 2022 and Russia did nothing to interfere with that activity until today.”
Larry a possible explanation is that yesterday’s downed drone was apparently flying without its transponder activated. I doubt that is standard protocol for any aircraft flying in international airspace. Russia was well within its territorial defense rights to intercept the MK9.
I am not a pilot but I did some quick research and the purpose of a transponder is to prevent mid-air collision. This applies to certain classes of drones as well. Here is my source: https://www.icao.int/safety/ua/documents/rpas%20conops.pdf
The hypocrisy here is that the USAF was the entity flying “recklessly” not the Russians.
I mean USAF fighter aces (sarcasm) intercepted and shot down “Chinese spy balloons” that did not have transponders activated.
Oh the clown show we live in…
I think Russians were just waiting for a situation with “plausible deniability”, in order not to escalate too much.
I am betting that there was no “collision”. This seems to be something added by the US to continue the Russia hate smears.
I heard on CNN that the drone was being used for climate change research only and that the transponder can interfere with scientifically designed measurements. Also, the operator was a stunning and brave trans woman who literally cried when her drone was shot down.
Not OK Russia!
All I know is Russia summoned US Ambassador nearly 3 weeks ago, issuing a “demarche” telling them to get all their NATO/US toys & people out of Ukraine https://tass.com/politics/1579703 or else they will be targeted. We have the “alledged” bunker strike ousting NATO operatives in last missile strike and now this. So, it’s gone to “open warfare” with NATO/US.
As far as escalation, 2weeks ago I would have said… “yup”… but now, banks crashing et el.. I don’t see even Poland or Ukraine (Zelensky) wanting to jump on that on that train now. I’m guessing for Zelensky if China offers him a deal to “reconstruct” and lots of $$$, just sign the papers, he would.
The Emperor’s naked. The world sees it. It’s over.
The US shoots down balloons they think are spying — but they cry when Russia downs an actual spy drone?
Yep, that is the definition the US follows. They can do everything but no-one can do the same to them.
I just hope they don’t miss the lesson here. If they don’t want to loose more of their precious spy toys, they better follow agreements and/or international law/practices.
Other people on blogs, who appear knowledgeable, suggest the dumped fuel would be ingested by the drone, causing its engine to over-rev, leading to the prop being damaged. So ‘hit by a Russian aircraft’ is technically correct, but misleading.
It’s a known method for taking out a turbo prop, like the MQ-9.
Now CNNLOL says that there is a race to recover the drone before it falls into the “wrong hands.” I suspect, given it’s 40 miles from an active war zone where Russia is a participant, they might have more assets in the area. Just a guess.
I also suspect that Russia is well past the annoyance stage with the blatant NATO/US meddling in this conflict. The US cancelled some more of these flights, apparently not wanting to lose any more $56 million dollar practice targets. At some point in the near future we may see a serious engagement with a loss of a NATO pilot or something like that. And the US will be in a bind as it will no longer be able to use bluff and bluster. It’ll be put up or shut up time, and my sense is they’ll shut up and try to pivot to a different narrative. Meanwhile the closet warriors like Lindsey Graham are going ballistic.
It gets interesting when somebody stands up to the bully. Around the world few are cheering the US on, and most would love to see them humbled. Even that seems lost on the war hawks, as they are caught up in their own myths. It’s kind of pathetic to watch unfold.
Watch the symbolic content. We are in a week, where Mercury’s wit and Sun’s empirely vigor are
weighed on the cosmic scale of pisces, i.e. being thrown into Neptune’s bath of letting happen,
what will happen.
Astromundane Diary, 11. Week 2023
‘For the Sake of Measure and Humbleness in the States on EARTH’
http://astromundanediary.blogspot.com/2023/03/for-sake-of-measure-and-humbleness-in.html
Larry as a nobody is there anyway to get you to go on the War Room with Steve Bannon? I am sure everyone at Maga would be very interested with what you and everyone here would have to say about this war. He has had Col McGregor on but you can add a lot specially with the intelligence communities failures.
“Environmentally Unsound” says the people who blew up the pipelines. You really cannot get angry over the hypocrisy nowadays. In fact, I have stopped altogether because it doesn’t matter anymore. The day looms large when these people finally get a rap across the head. Sometimes I (we all perhaps) want to see the Russians say enough is enough and take off the gloves. However, I get the feeling maybe the most important objective for people like Xi & Putin will not to be the cause of a huge temper tantrum as long as these spoiled children have access to civilization ending technology.
This link prob belongs in a comment on Larry’s “Group Think” article but I wanted to post it here as it continues to be relevant to the dc group think. It is an excellent summary, however long, by Pat Lang on drinking the Kool Aid that led up to the Iraq crime, who for unknown reasons has strayed and now seems to be drinking the “Kool Aid” about Russian “aggression”.
Nevertheless, it is an excellent article on the crime that was Iraq invasion and the neo con machinations that led up to it. (I stumbled on this article in perusing the blog that is Lang’s).
https://web.archive.org/web/20090609172955/http:/www.mepc.org/journal_vol11/0406_lang.asp
That’s a good article – certainly supports what Larry says has happened to our system.
So did Russian command and control, decide, they are sick and tired of these drones and let’s bring this sob down before coffee brake. It’s planned if you don’t want it to sink and give a chance to someone else controling the wreckage area with their ships. As soon as the wreckage plummets and you can predict its trajectory, you send your stand by assets to the predicted location. This is simple project planning and management.
“But this is standard fare for the United States — America will do whatever it wants but will howl like a banshee if it is done to it.”
Hm, this behaviour reminds me of some other group, I just can’t quite put my finger on it..
Anybody know how to find out how many attack missions this Reaper flew, and where? My guess is “quite a few.” And other than the tiny fig leaf of the vastly over-interpreted AUMA, itself a sharp stick in the eye of moral behavior, all those “missions” are way beyond and outside of all norms of decency.
How many Hellfires and other munitions fired into wedding parties and nut gatherers and “unfriendly” news reporters? Reapers have buckets of blood on their spindly talons and sensor snouts and hard point mounts. Just like the rest of the empire’s fleets.
“Might makes right?” Only until that final arrogant obscenity that provokes the de-clawing flood of righteous reprisal.
Looking forward to that multipolar world, which no doubt will have its own set of horrible human behaviors to trigger more aghastitude… or maybe the neocons will “just do it, pull the nuclear trigger, and we humans and many other species on this formerly garden world will fry and freeze together.
An alleged video of the MQ-9 Reaper that was taken by a SU-27 shows a GA-ASI’s Lynx synthetic aperture radar antenna attached to the underside of the aircraft. Given the heavy cloud cover shown in the video the SAR radar and moving target indicator were actively scanning the line of contact rather than optical sensors. This technology has limited range and the operators were given the order to move the MQ-9 closer to the Russian border to scan the line of contact further north.
I was wondering when the Russians would start taking out drones that are used to supply real-time targeting coordinates to systems such as HIMARS. This recent action signals a shift in the Russian policy regarding enforcement of the limited use airspace in the Black Sea.
I’d bet that there is a bidding war going one for the drone’s remains. Maybe that mysterious Baltic Sea – German yacht will show up with it’s talented divers will get into the act. One bullet in the gas tank, how far will those things glide?
The funniest part is the condescension about environmental damage. Coming from the country who sabotaged Nord Stream 2 and released the largest amount of methane gas into the atmosphere from a single event in human history.
General Atomics is gleeful at the news of the $56 million Reaper drone shoot down by skilled Russian pilots. They get another order from the Pentagon.
I wonder of Senator Lindsey Graham’s stock portfolio includes General Atomics?
https://www.investing.com/equities/silvermet-inc
i finally found the name of the guy that i first saw mention how Ru planes downed the drone.
plus some Ru pilot chatter that suposedly say that Ru have the drone.
“According to the published recordings of radio conversations between Russian pilots, there is reason to believe that the wreckage of the American MQ-9 Reaper UAV that fell into the Black Sea was picked up by the Russian military (listen in tg). By the way, it costs 56 million dollars.
Oleg Tsarev: “I communicate with pilots. They say they were taught this maneuver: Drying goes over the object, then turns up its nose and gives afterburner. If there was a plane under it, it could have its wings blown off, if a drone or something small, it goes into a tailspin and then tumbles randomly down.”
Only in Russian, use DeepL or Yandex to translate text.
Unfortunately Yandex STILL have not released a Ru to Eng voice/video translator only Eng to Ru as i type, so the pilot chatter is only for Ru speakers..
https://voenhronika.ru/publ/vojna_na_ukraine/15_03_2023_novosti_s_ukrainy_bakhmutskaja_mjasorubka_srazhenie_za_zaliznjanskoe_i_khromov_nachalos_karta_boevykh_dejstvij_15_video/60-1-0-13747
Per
Norway
I think the fuel dump and sticking the Su-27’s nose into the MQ9’s propeller are as likely as 5 guys and a gal on a sailboat doing anything more than filming porn.
A combination of Escobar’s satellite link interruption followed by a blast of Tsarev’s turbulence to throw the MQ9’s gyros off would bring it down just about instantly. It would also match the letter of the RuMoD’s account of the incident and mask the drone’s fate for a few crucial minutes.
I believe your link (which wouldn’t translate, BTW) had a more interesting tale to tell than that. I’m referring to the graphic at the bottom of the story. It shows the MQ9 heading SE well off to the West of the Crimean coast to a point SW of Crimea when it suddenly turns NE and heads directly towards Sevastopol. It splashed down some 60km short of the mark.
That was surely no routine surveillance track and bound to set off alarm bells at the AD centre. It was a clear provocation, daring the Russians to respond. They did, but the provocation was so obvious that one has to wonder if the NATO sortie planners didn’t intend it be taken down. I can’t believe they’re so stupid as to believe that the Russians would let it continue to fly until it was overhead.
IOW, did the Russians gain a trophy that the idiots that set this mission didn’t expect to lose, or did they get baited by a sacrificial dummy drone sent to gain intelligence on Russia’s air defences?
The obvious corollary question is whether it was a dummy that the Russians either won’t learn anything from, or even specially intended to misdirect their engineers into chasing ghosts digging through its electronics?
Wheels within wheels… but NATO is unlikely to be as stupid as they look.
HMS T
All good questions and points, i just posted the info.
I have NO clue about airplanes and uav workings and such, the theory was sound as i understand air turbulence but i lay no claim on knowing the truth..
About wheels within wheels, can they as dumb as they look part, i can say with 95% confindence that Stoltenberg is even dumber then he looks.
NRK tv and radio and other Norwegian media he have been in for decades!
I have worked in a Norwegian ngo and have met Many politicians here, 1 was intelligent.
He commited suicide.
The army guys parading on Norwegian tv and media spouts the same garbage as cnn and petraeus do in the US, so i am uncertain about they are unlikely to be as stupid as they look.
Per
Norway
I wonder, could the Russians bring down the drones by interfering with the electronic signal? I guess electronic interference would be harder to prove by the US.
If Russians recovered the drone, could they learn about the US spying by an readout of the payload or would the US destroy the payload by US remote control?
I haven’t yet read whether this ISR Reaper was a CIA or DOD asset. Anyone know? I’ll assume DOD.
The Laws of Armed Conflict… US Rules of Engagement (ROE) follow LOAC. If that Reaper was gathering intel for Ukraine targeting of Russian combatant assets or for future irregular warfare targeting, then under US ROE, that Reaper would have been declared hostile and shot down.
Russia is clearly showing vast restraint in not escalating this conflict. Russia knows they will win by not getting into direct military conflict with the US.
The US National Command Authority morons are looking for another Lusitania or Pearl Harbor where a desired adversay was goaded into violent conflict. It won’t work this time and will result in failure, regardless of China’s or Russia’s military or non-military actions.
There was a CNO, I think Wadkins (??), who said that the biggest threat to National Security is the National Debt. And look where we are today.
the usa has been pillaging russia for yrs going back to the cold war. when putin got in he put an end to that.
victor suvorov is not everyones cup of tea. this may explain allot though. the reason i think he decided to defect if because of what happened in genova 1977. his account is that he was sent to the airport to meet a plane bringing in gold to give to the west for payment of grain from the usa to russia. he regarded this as treasonous.
so as to not waste anyones time- the discussion starts at the 1 hr. 13 minute mark of the 2009 video he did.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?283856-1/the-chief-culprit
Pepe Escobar (currently in Moscow) tweeted that he had confirmation that:
– it was brought down by EW cutting its satellite link, and
– the electronics had been recovered intact by Black Sea Fleet assets.
If Pepe’s info is accurate, the MQ9 Reaper’s “Gorgon Stare” will soon be as familiar to Russian engineers as their own systems.
NATO just gave away its top-line surveillance system, and (if it didn’t auto-wipe its software) a host of command, control and communication protocols.
It’s no wonder that upcoming Reaper missions were immediately scrubbed.
The Reaper is now a $56M flying irrelevance, and may provide a window into the inner workings of NATO’s crown jewel, namely its battlefield management systems. Not good.
Good news.
The US/NATO are making the keystone Cops look competent.
Just watched the video images released. No damage to the prop at all. The drone did not appear to loose control. The prop is windmilling which may indicate engine failure.