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By now, y’all have heard about the two Russian jets harassing a Reaper drone before “bumping” it and forcing it to scuttle itself in the Black Sea. While you cogitate on Secretary Austin and Chairman/General “White Rage” Milley nattering on about “unprofessional” and “environmentally unsound” manners, the Russians are laughing. They not only took out an expensive drone without firing a shot, but they symbolically humiliated the drone first. Hey Putin, sit and spin.
What do I mean? The Russian jets dumped fuel on our drone. Not to put to fine a point on it, they pissed on our drone. With approval from authorities (Putin). The Russian pilots didn’t do that to “disable” the drone. They were sending a message to the Pentagon. Is there anyone with a spine in that building.
We know drone strikes are a popular Biden killing vehicle, but what else do we know? Since Victory Girls like to give you facts and not just feelings, here are a few facts about the Reaper drone:
The MQ-9 “Reaper” unmanned aerial vehicle can loiter at up to 50,000 feet for more than 27 hours, gathering intelligence with sophisticated cameras, sensors and radars. It has a 66 foot wingspan, a Honeywell engine, can carry 3,900 pounds of fuel and travel at a speed of 240 knots ‘true air speed’.
The Reaper, which was delivered to the Air Force 16 years ago, can also be equipped with weapons such as air-to-ground missiles.
MQ-9s have also been purchased by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, UK Royal Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the French Air Force and the Spanish Air Force.
And, here are the details on the Su-27 Russian fighter jets:
The Sukhoi Su-27 (Russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, with 3,530-kilometre (1,910 nmi) range, heavy aircraft ordnance, sophisticated avionics and high maneuverability. The Su-27 was designed for air superiority missions, and subsequent variants are able to perform almost all aerial warfare operations. It was designed with the Mikoyan MiG-29 as its complement.
The Su-27 entered service with the Soviet Air Forces in 1985. The primary role was long range air defence against American SAC Rockwell B-1B Lancer and Boeing B-52G and H Stratofortress bombers, protecting the Soviet coast from aircraft carriers and flying long range fighter escort for Soviet heavy bombers such as the Tupolev Tu-95, Tupolev Tu-22M and Tupolev Tu-160.[2]
Why was the Reaper drone over the Black Sea? Spying, duh. We, the United State, spy everywhere, all the time, facts. Were we spying for Ukraine? Of course, duh. Mother Russia is rather domineering to say the least and was not amused by the drone’s location:
Three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said the highest levels of the Kremlin approved the aggressive actions of Russian military fighter jets against a U.S. military drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
The Russian jets dropped jet fuel on the MQ-9 Reaper, an unprecedented action, and two of the officials said the intelligence suggests the intent seemed to be to throw the drone off course or disable its surveillance capabilities.
It was “Russian leadership’s intention to be aggressive in the intercept,” said one of the officials.
One official said he had not gotten indications that the signoff went all the way up to Putin. Other officials declined to provide specifics beyond “highest levels.”
Pissing on our drone to humiliate us/Biden would at least get a giggle snort out of Putin. Do you think Vladimir Putin enjoyed this video?
The “fuel dump” reminds me of Maverick and Goose “keeping up foreign relations“. They laughed the Russian pilots laughed. Putin laughed. Milley and Austin intoned solemnly:
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called the encounter that involved two Russian jets “dangerous” and “reckless,” and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, labeled the actions of the Russians as “unprofessional” and “unsafe.”
That is some funny shit! Russian pilot totally humiliated the drone operator. 30 year old Russian plane swat it down like a bug.
pic.twitter.com/jIgsYKwqnY— Dances with Ducks (@HondoXP1) March 16, 2023
We are led by weak people. I believe they want war with Russia. I don’t know why. They just do. We, the people, don’t want war and we don’t want the humiliation. Biden and the perfumed princes of the Pentagon were all worried about being escalatory. Russia doesn’t give a fig about escalatory. Any ideas out there about what should be the penalty for pissing on our drone and forcing it to scuttle?
Featured Image: Department of Defense/Cropped/Creative Commons
Navig8r says: I suspect the fuel dump was more about trying to shut down the engine than symbolic value. A big glop of fuel in the air intake would starve the engine for oxygen. Better chance to recover intact parts afterwards than would be the case with a more kinetic smack down.
GWB says: Absolutely correct. As a tanker pilot, I understand the dangers inherent in a splash of gas going through an intake. It usually doesn’t cause any problems with our aircraft, but it might, so it’s worth a shot.
Liz says: Yep. They passed 19 times according to what I read…during which they were probably doing different things to see the impact. Sonic booms have a deleterious impact on some helicopters, so they were probably trying that (and jet wash, which could make the drone go into an uncontrolled spin…but requires the jet to get pretty close, I’m guessing this is how it hit, assuming it did).
Liz says: There is almost no chance the jet hit the drone on purpose. These aren’t bumper cars, and mid air collisions aren’t something a pilot does on purpose unless the intention is to crash (no one wants to have to bail out into the icy sea).
Most likely (if there was a collision) it was unintentional.
They were probably experimenting (sonic booms, jet wash, fuel dumping and so forth) to see what impact it would make (of course the intent was to make it crash…just not via mis air collision).
George V says: I wonder if the Russian pilots thought they could light off the fuel with their afterburners, similar to what could be done with the FB-111, thereby toasting the drone a bit.
GWB says: I’m sure that was another possibility.
Which, if done correctly, might also starve the engine of oxygen.
American Human says: I tend to go with the “Peeing on it” scenario.
I can imagine, though, the SSGT’s finger just reaching for the button with his Colonel telling not to launch, just in time.
As to what we can do? Well that has passed. We could have locked on and blown it out of the sky. Nothing now except sternly worded letters and lines drawn in the sand. It’s as if we have George Michael Bluth as our CJCS/President/SecDef.
Liz says: Was the MQ9 armed?
Bruce says: Anyone else familiar with the RAF tactic developed to deal with V1 flying bombs in WW2?
Their best aircraft could match the doodlebugs for speed, so shooting them down was one option. However, the significant explosive payload of the V1 posed a serious hazard to fighters engaging in this practice.
The neatest (and cheapest) solution was to fly alongside the V1, drift towards it and slide a wing under that of the V1. A quick flick with the fighter’s ailerons tipped the V1 wing and destabilized it, sending it to the ground. STILL armed and ready to go, and if all this was achieved in the right airspace, the V1 would rearrange an open field, instead of a bunch of houses or an actual military target.
I would hazard a bet that any Russian pilot worth his certification is well aware of this bit of history.
They may also consider the distinct possibility of a Reaper being loaded with high-explosives instead of electronics, with “interesting” consequences for an adventurous pilot; hence the “blow-torch” approach.
Liz says: It doesn’t look like that happened, from the video.
It looked like the pilot dumping fuel wasn’t able to pull up fast enough.
That’s what my spouse thinks. He flew the MQ9 (a very slow plane) for a year, and he flew fighters for 25+ years.
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