Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told Newsmax that Tuesday’s collision between a Russian warplane and a U.S. reconnaissance drone is not the first time such an incident has occurred.
“This isn't the first time that Russian aircraft have intercepted U.S. aircraft or vessels,” Esper said during an appearance on Newsmax’s “The Record with Greta Van Susteren.” “During my tenure, it was not uncommon for them to buzz our ships or to come up and get next to our reconnaissance aircraft or bombers to check them out. What is unprecedented is what they did with regard to dumping fuel on the aircraft and then eventually bumping it and forcing it to be landed in the Black Sea itself by U.S. forces.”
“I assume they were trying to mess up its aviation, its avionics, its flight path and force it to return to base — maybe even damage it in the process,” he continued. “I think the message they're trying to send is, ‘We don't want you surveilling our activities in the Black Sea’ and they were trying to force us back.”
Esper said it is not unusual for the United States to conduct reconnaissance over international waters.
“We do surveillance and reconnaissance all around the world,” he said. “I don’t know for sure, but I suspect we maintain constant surveillance over the Black Sea, make sure we understand the disposition of Russian forces, both in the Black Sea itself and on Ukrainian-held territory.”
When asked about the surveillance capabilities of U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, Esper said they are “excellent.”
“They can carry different payloads, different packages, if you will, of surveillance equipment, but they're very good and they can do it at a distance, which is why we feel comfortable operating in international airspace to do this,” he said. “It gives us a good chance to understand what the Russians are doing in the Black Sea or Crimea or southern Ukraine, where we know they are operating.”
The former Defense secretary said that the United States “used to maintain open lines of communication with the Russians” during his tenure and he speculated there was a lot going on behind the scenes in the Biden administration after Tuesday’s incident.
“I assume what happened after the incident today was from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff down, they were reaching out to their counterparts in Russia, finding out what happened, seeking an explanation, and I think what the Russians were telling them privately will dictate much of our response here in the coming 24 hours to days,” he said.
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