US Drones are back in the skies over the Black Sea after collision

March 19, 2023

U.S. drones are back in the skies over the Black Sea after two Russian jets harassed and collided with an MQ-9 unmanned aircraft last week.

The Pentagon has insisted that the incident will not dissuade the United States from conducting flights in the area even as Russia attempts to maintain air superiority in the region.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took aim at Russia saying Russian forces were engaged in "a pattern of aggressive and risky and unsafe actions by Russian pilots in international airspace."

Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu denied that there had been a collision but commended the two pilots for preventing the drone from "violating the boundaries of the temporary airspace regime established for the special military operation."

Thankfully, no one was hurt in this incident, but it serves as a stark reminder that the United States is closer to war with a nuclear power than it has ever been since the end of the Cold War.

The Biden administration needs to be pressing for peace in Ukraine instead of jousting with Russian jets in the Black Sea.