Tuesday's incident over the Black Sea was the first to lead to the crash of a Western drone, in this case an American "Reaper." But it was by no means the first dangerous air maneuver that Russian pilots have flown in the region. This is not always known, some NATO countries do not hang it on the big bell. Others, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, make every incident public. This alone makes it clear that this area is of strategic importance for Western reconnaissance – and Russia repeatedly tries to disrupt flights.
Thomas Gutschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries, based in Brussels.
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In mid-October last year, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace informed the House of Commons about a dangerous interception manoeuvre that took place over the Black Sea on 29 September. As on Tuesday, two Russian SU-27 fighters took off to "shadow" a British RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft. This is the most modern variant of a reconnaissance aircraft from the 2013s, introduced in 1960. A Russian fighter then suddenly fired a missile, which Wallace characterized as a "potentially dangerous mission." Moscow had reported a "malfunction", which corresponds to its own findings, said the minister.
Of course, he pointed out on the occasion that Russian aircraft had often flown "very, very close" to British and American equipment in recent years. In one case, a fighter jet approached a NATO aircraft to within five meters. "You know this is reckless and unnecessary and endangers the lives of many people," Wallace told lawmakers.
The American command for Europe expressed itself similarly on Tuesday: The Russian fighters had behaved "recklessly, environmentally irresponsible and unprofessional," it said in the message, with which the armed forces made known the loss of their drone. The somewhat curious reference to the environmental impact referred to the fact that the fighter planes had previously dumped kerosene on the drone.
At NATO, it can be heard that there are up to ten dangerous approaches of Russian aircraft to their own machines per year. It is also said to have happened that fighter planes fly close and then switch on their afterburner, which increases the thrust of the engine and thus leads to turbulence. The allies learned about the latest incident not only from the media. General Christopher Cavoli, the supreme commander of NATO and US forces in Europe, personally informed the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday afternoon, as the FAZ learned.