Although he doesn't believe that the incident in which a U.S. drone plunged into international waters after a confrontation with a Russian fighter jet was intentionally done by Kremlin authorities and was more the act of an undisciplined pilot, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt said Wednesday that it illustrates the ease with which a miscalculation can happen and lead to disastrous, wide-ranging results.
Holt said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that the "whole event is not really professional from a military standpoint. I don't believe there was a calculation to take out our drone. I think we got a pilot who took a few things into his own hands."
Holt explained his thinking by saying that "if Russia wants to accuse the United States of actively participating in the war (in Ukraine) by handing over targeting information that we're getting off of our platforms to observe what's going on," they would first be making this case diplomatically, including giving an ultimatum of military action to prevent it.
In addition, Holt said that "if they were going to go after our drone, they would actually shoot it down, they would not do any of this nonsense" of using gas and clipping the propeller, etc.
Holt stressed that "this is where miscalculation happens, this is where we can get into trouble with all-manned aircraft, and now, we're in a whole new place."
Holt also mocked the official EUCOM (United States European Command) statement on the incident that included that the Russian plane acted "in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner," bemoaning the fact that American authorities felt it necessary to include the totally unconnected issue of environmentalism.
Holt also emphasized, that, in any case, "when fuel gets dumped at that altitude, it gets vaporized, so just trust the science, that's nonsense, and it takes away from the incident."
He added that the artificial introduction of an environmental issue into the incident it is ridiculous, laughable, and projects weakness to Russia and China.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.