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Russian news sources claim U.S. drone captured over Crimea

Simferopol –
A report by the Rostec state corporation said: “Judging by side marking, the MQ-5B drone was part of the 66th US brigade of military intelligence with the main location in Bavaria,” A report by the corporation claims that the brigade was moved to Kirohrad in the Ukraine at the beginning of March. The report also notes: “According to some data, the American reconnaissance brigade had 18 MQ-5B drones in its arsenal. This is the second time the American UAV is intercepted over Crimea,”

Rostec gave details of the interception of the drone: “The drone was flying at about 4,000 meters (12,000 feet) and was virtually invisible from the ground. It was possible to break the link with U.S. operators with complex radio-electronic” technology, “ The radio-electronic technology used in EW (electronic warfare) is Avtobaza. The drone made an emergency landing and fell into the possession of self-defense forces.

According to data from the manufacturer: “..the MQ-5B is seven meters (23 ft) long, with a maximum takeoff weight of about 900 kilograms (2,000 lbs). It can fly for as many as 21 hours at an altitude up to 5,500 m (18,000 ft) and carriers several sensors and communications devices, but is unarmed.”

Senior U.S. military officials denied the Russian reports and claim that there are no U.S. drones of any kind over the Crimea.

An article at this site notes that the MQ-5 is one of the oldest and most basic drones in the U.S. fleet and has been replaced by the RQ-7 Shadow. It is unlikely the U.S. would use this for a drone mission. Instead it would use the Air Force RQ-170 Sentinel a stealth drone. The appended video allegedly shows a drone being shot down over Crimea. There is no independent verification of the video and furthermore the incident reported on Voice of Russia was not a drone being shot down but captured after an emergency landing.

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