the UAV was found in the Russian Federation's territory

 

According to Russian Defense Ministry sources cited by local media, the UAV was found in the Russian Federation's territory - the US has another version of the location of the wreckage.

Russian ForPost citing Russian Defense Ministry sources, claims that the US MQ-9 Reaper UCAV was found near Sevastopol at a depth of about 900 meters.

The American drone that fell to the bottom of the Black Sea may be storing important intelligence data for the Russian military. "There are not only fragments but also some of its structural elements, for example, optical-electronic equipment that deals with recognition. We will find out which objects were most interesting," military analyst Viktor Litovkin told Russian media.

Defense Ministry specialists discovered a US MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that crashed into the Black Sea on the day of the incident on March 14, a source close to the military department told ForPost. According to the interlocutor of the publication, the drone was found 60 kilometers from Sevastopol with the help of an underwater robot at a depth of about 850-900 meters near the deep-water branch of the South Stream gas pipeline.

The United States remotely destroyed information about the downed drone, General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press conference, TASS reports. The White House also discussed measures to protect the device from falling into the wrong hands.

According to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the Russian military can acquire a drone if they deem it necessary in the interest of security. On March 15, the country's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev announced plans to recover the wreckage of the device.

Russian ForPost quoting Russian Defense Ministry sources claim American MQ-9 Reaper UCAV was found near Sevastopol at a depth of about 900 meters. pic.twitter.com/faRGmVnfXq

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 16, 2023

The graphic below depicts approximations of the locations and times of the @usairforce MQ-9 Reaper collision and crash into the Black Sea. The video released earlier today by @US_EUCOM occurs at the middle plot point on the timeline. pic.twitter.com/nz8fTzL4ZG

— USAFE-AFAFRICA (@HQUSAFEAFAF) March 16, 2023