Interesting dog fighting technique: dumping fuel on other plane. If that fails, just ram it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Reaper 66' wingspan, ~5,000 lbs vs Su 27 48' span ~40,000 lbs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-9_Reaper Image Unavailable, Please Login https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-27 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sure seems like they were just ****ing around with it. Taking the piss, as it were. Can't imagine the stunt went over well with the pilots' bosses back home in Russia. Just imagine the fallout haha if an SU-27 had gone done with the drone. And on camera no less. If the goal was to take out the Reaper a little missile would have done the job so much easier. Guess that would have caused more of an uproar, but same end result.
They likely made a couple of earlier passes to make sure there was not an AIM-9X on the Reaper. Really crummy flying. Looks like their air force is about as competent as their army.
i wonder what would have happened if the Reaper released a cloud of 1/4 inch diameter ball bearings behind it? I think that would have been fun.
or if the Reaper had just self destructed when the Su27 was close by, grenading itself into the jets' intakes. We'd take that trade. More I think of it the dumber their fuel-dumping/pissing plan seems, if they really intended to douse the drone. Should have flown in front/above the Reaper, or at least crossed it's path from low to high. First pilot had an itchy trigger finger, but probably didn't practice this move very much so erred on the early side. Crazy thing all around.
Much less, I guess; I'm not a pilot, but, as an example...if you think that they have managed to loose already 20 confirmed Su-34 (well, Sy-34 in russian) which is their most expensive aircraft, in Ukraine, and of which the total available to them was only 120... no wonder that a french aviation journalist wrote that "The "performance" of the russian air force in Ukraine is the biggest disappointment of this war so far". Rgds
Soooo...the Sukhoï pilots didn't force the "Reaper" down, never touched it, and it fell from the sky all by itself. But nevertheless, the heroïc defenders have just been given awards. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-defence-minister-decorates-pilots-downing-us-drone-2023-03-17/ Rgds
I suspect they already knew that maneuver would cause the engine to fail. Perhaps not the first time they did this but the first time it was published?
There is a matter of opinion also, regarding what is, or isn't, "international airspace"; the Russians have claimed all the airspace above the Black Sea as a kind of "exclusion zone"; they haven't the right to do this, but that's their perspective. So they consider that any aircraft flying above the Black Sea is violating that airspace. Kind of bad faith if you want, but they are masters at bad faith: "I'm lying to you; I know you know that I'm lying, but I'm lying nevertheless; and I know you know, but I will still do it". Rgds
I was thinking same but loaded with shrapnel. When Ivan complains just say your collision caused loss of both aircraft. Its not like lying in DC is anything new.
Do you think level of competency is a recent issue? Reason I ask one of my ex Navy pilot friends flew under contract airliners in India towards the end of his career. Many of the other pilots were ex Russian military much younger than he. He became friends with a few. He was generally impressed by the quality of the Russian pilots. In fact I remember him saying it was a good thing we never got in a real fight with them. This was 15 years ago.
Bronco doesn't think too highly of the Russian's airmanship. Botched Russian Intercept of MQ-9 Drone Over International Waters - YouTube First images I've seen of the damaged prop. Just a couple of feet, or probably inches, away from both craft becoming a big fireball in the sky. I don't know how comparable this is to the P63/B17 incident though. The SU27 pilot was clearly TRYING to buzz the drone at close range. Had to be incredibly close to hit them with fuel. BTW nice camera work by the drone operator.
Hope springs eternal. In the words of a famous actor "the gun just went off on it's own - I never pulled the trigger!" Obvious technical error, sorry about the loss of your SU27.
Brian- No, we have seen it for decades. When Belenko defected with his MiG-25 in 1976, he was run through some simulators to judge his level of competence. He had not even been trained on basic fighter maneuvers that are the foundation of a fighter pilot's expertise. In general, his flying was worse than any second lieutenant half-way through T-38 flying training. Funny thing is, we paid more for the MQ-9 than the Russians did for the Sukhoi.
Pentagon has never been accused of being smart shoppers. Funny considering Belenko was the poster boy for Ivans air force. On a similar note. China. Being the history buff I am and having read extensively on precommunist China and their military incompetence to put it mildly should we expect any greater fighting ability from the modern Chinese military or willingness to fight? They could not surrender fast enough to the Japanese.
Everyone needs a hero. Especially when they go face to face ( Well face to circuit board) with the great capitalist bully's from the west. I can see that midget Russian beating his chest now, maybe even offering to sit and share some vodka with his brave and victorious pilots to share stories of selfless conquest on the field of battle in the name of Mother Russia. "So, Ivanovich, tell me, how did you bend that propellor?"
Amazing. Sure we've got some incredible, utterly shameless liars all the way to to the top right here in the good ol US of A (and lots of people who somehow believe them) but how the hell do you spin running into an unarmed, un-piloted drone as some kind of heroic act?? Desperate times..
I have "reservations" about the numbers from each belligerant...(I have some knowledge of both countries) I usually refer to "Oryx", which is independant and tallies only confirmed losses (by a picture of the vehicle number, serial number, etc...) from open sources. Their figures are under-estimated, but proven; they have 19 Sy-34 confirmed losses. https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html Otherwise, "Mediazona" (if you read Russian) or BBC Russia as far as personnel losses. Rgds
Without going into P & R, Russia has started something that it will not and can not stop. The numbers of medals and decorations already attributed for what is shameless behavior is amazing. Rgds
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin's arrest on War Crimes.