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Wreckage of US MQ-9 Reaper drone is of interest to Russian defense industry — Rostec

According to the US version of events, a pair of Russian Su-27 aircraft intercepted the MQ-9 while it was on a recon mission and dumped their fuel several times toward the drone

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. The wreckage of the US surveillance drone MQ-9 Reaper, which crashed into the Black Sea after its interception by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets, is of interest to Russian defense industry specialist as an object of studies, state corporation Rostec told TASS on Friday.

"Of course, the debris of the US MQ-9 Reaper drone are of interest to the Russian defense industry. Any find of that magnitude should be stripped down and studied to the last bolt," a company representative said, when asked if its specialists were interested in examining the US drone.

The representative said all captured equipment is subjected to thorough examination.

"We closely follow the achievements of the foreign defense industry. They have obvious cases of success and downright flops. That’s certainly all taken into account. To create a successful product, one needs to understand what your competition is up to. That goes for drones, artillery, armored vehicles and other types of weapons," the Rostec representative said.

The US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed in the international waters of the Black Sea on March 14. The Russian Defense Ministry said the drone was flying toward the Russian border with its transponders switched off and intruded the airspace that had been restricted for flights for the purposes of the special military operation. The ministry said the drone went out of control due to quick maneuvering and subsequently crashed, while Russian fighter jets that escorted the drone didn’t engage their weapons and didn’t come in any contact with the UAV.

According to the US version of events, a pair of Russian Su-27 aircraft intercepted the MQ-9 while it was on a recon mission and dumped their fuel several times toward the drone. Ultimately, according to Washington, one of the jets hit the propeller of the drone, prompting its crash.

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