Did the Russian fighter jets really hit the American drone?

The US drone which crashed on Tuesday has been defined as MQ-9 Reaper and not MQ-9B Predator which the Indian Navy is negotiating for. Both drones are from the US based General Atomics. Though they both look the same to a layman, they are different.

Drones can be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), however, Reaper is primarily a `hunter-killer’ drone and it has the capability to carry a 1700 kg of Hellfire Missile or Pavewey LGB (Series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs).

Reports indicate that a Russian fighter jet collided with a US drone, and caused the unmanned aircraft to crash into the Black Sea. The US Military has, according to reports, claimed that the drone was on a routine mission in international space when two Russian fighter jets tried to intercept it. However Russians have denied this.

Before speculating regarding the Reaper crash it is important to look at the following:

What was the location of the incident?

How can you damage the drone without damaging your own aircraft?

Why use Reaper when Predator is available in the market?

If Aviation Fuel can damage the propeller then rain and hail can definitely do the same.

The estimated cost of the lost Reaper is over USD 6.09 million. The details of interception or the collision is not known – this means not much detail is known about the coordinates etc.

Any impact in air damages both the aircraft, construction of aircraft thereafter defines resilience for survival.

Composite Material

However, composite material is not totally protected from aviation fuel. These fluids could diffuse into and through the composite matrix phase upon contact leading to liquid absorption uptake. This depends on the contact time scale, temperature and chemical composition of both the fluid and material.

Which one is the Indian navy negotiating for?

The Indian Navy is negotiating for its MQ-9B Predator drones. Financial Express Online has reported earlier that talks are in advanced stage for procuring MQ-9B drones from the US based General Atomics which are expected to help in strengthening surveillance apparatus not only along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) but also in the Indian Ocean where China continues to expand its presence.

These drones are long endurance – hunter-killer and all the three services will get the drones once the deal is firmed up and will be deployed for different missions including surveillance on the ground, in the air as well as maritime; anti-submarine warfare, hitting stationary targets and also over-the-horizon targeting.

The MQ-9B is a variant of the MQ-9 “Reaper”. Financial Express reported last year that “Repear’’ was reportedly used to fire a modified version of the Hellfire missile to eliminate al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul.

As part of a company owned/company operated (COCO) lease agreement, the Indian Navy leased two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from General Atomics in 2020 following the clash between Indian and Chinese forces in Galwan Valley.

Pleased with the over the horizon ISR, exceptional endurance and operational availability, the lease for the drones has been extended.