Russian Su-27 aircraft strikes propeller of US MQ-9 drone, causing it to crash in the Black Sea:
Would’ve been a shame if the MQ-9 blew up when it was hit.
Mod note … Noted.
Modnote, none of that please. Not the thread for it.
The new tactics of harassing a drone is interesting. I wouldn’t have considered spraying fuel.
A Ukrainian drone would have been shot down. It seems Russia is experimenting with ways to deal with NATO drones. It must have been stressful for the remote US pilot.
Actually, to me, it sounds like the opposite: it was a pretty competent action by the Russian pilot. He successfully destroyed an enemy aircraft without any damage to himself, and didn’t even use up any of his (scarce?) ammunition.
How did he damage the MQ-9’s prop without damaging his own aircraft?
exactly my though. MQ-9 isn’t a quadracopter.
Emphasis added.
That assumes facts not in evidence. Jets don’t like hitting birds, let alone drones - ramming speed is rarely a thing in aerial combat.
He could tow a cable. One of my friends played with other remote controlled model aircraft guys. They would tow ribbons, and dog fight by trying to cut off the other guy’s ribbon with their propeller.
A metal cable one have the opposite effect, damaging the prop.
Still tricky since the prop is at the rear.
Which would be an attack on a NATO aircraft with a weapon, no less than a missile or a cannon round.
FOX 0* is just about the only attack mode available that can be credibly “oops”'ed away.
*“FOX” is US military aviation radio brevity code for firing a weapon. The number indicates what type of weapon. “Zero” is the (mythical) facetious brevity code for attacking with your airframe, e.g. kanikaze.
Is he going to see it if I fly up behind him? Was venting gas considered an attack, or just unsafe?
Is it possible that a jet could do a very close and fast flyby near the rear of the drone (near the prop) such that the wake created would destroy the prop?
That’s from a science fiction short story where a jet fighter time travels to WWI and destroys cloth and wooden aircraft by flying past them at Mach 2.
Haven’t read that, but … Is it possible?
36’ long. I guess you could touch the prop with a wingtip.
It should be noted that attacks on drones seem to be regarded as less (threatening? provocative? of a casus belli?) than attacks on piloted aircraft. Certainly President Trump set a bit of a precedent with his refusal to engage in a reprisal military strike against Iran after they downed a surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz in 2019 (one of his few decisions I agree with).
I’m guessing the Su-24 stuck the spike on its nosecone into the propeller of the MQ-9.
Wingtip vortices have crashed a lot of aircraft at low altitude. I’ve heard or read from people who said they got caught in a vortex at altitude, and they had plenty of room to recover.