The Race To Recover Reaper Wreckage: Russia Plans To Reverse-Engineer an American Drone

On the morning of March 14, 2023, two Russian Su-27 fighter jets spotted an American MQ-9 Reaper drone flying in international airspace over the Black Sea while it was on a reconnaissance mission. They went on to purposely harass the unmanned aircraft by dumping fuel on it several times, finally clipping its propeller and forcing it down into the Black Sea.

Shortly after the incident, Russia stated that it is seriously considering recovering the wrecked surveillance drone and reverse-engineering it as it “is of interest” to the nation’s defense industry.

The Russian State-owned Rostec corporation, via a representative, told reporters that the country considers every bit and bolt of the Reaper as an object for “thorough examination.”

“Of course, the debris of the US MQ-9 Reaper drone are of interest to the Russian defense industry. Any find of that magnitude should be stripped down and studied to the last bolt,” a Rostec representative said via TASS.

They also noted that Moscow constantly monitors the accomplishments of all members of the international military sector, particularly its ability to manufacture cutting-edge defensive systems.

“To create a successful product, one needs to understand what your competition is up to. That goes for drones, artillery, armored vehicles, and other types of weapons,” the representative added.

The footage below, posted by The Telegraph, is the last moments recorded by the MQ-9 Reaper drone before being shot down by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet plummeting into international waters seconds later.

‘No Real Intel Value’

Despite reassuring the public that the downed American unmanned drone did not have any sensitive materials as it had been stripped off before sending it for a recon mission, Washington said it still plans to recover it.

But it would be a difficult feat—for both the Russian and American forces. The debris fell into the deepest region of the Black Sea, and it might take several days and millions of dollars for recovery efforts to occur.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed this to reporters, saying that any recovery effort would be complex. Additionally, he speculated that the drone likely plummeted in an area where the water is about 4,000-5,000 feet (1,200-1,500 meters) deep.

A rough geolocation of where the MQ-9 Reaper drone and Su-27 collided, causing the former to crash into the Black Sea pic.twitter.com/lINU4TSR1V

— LogKa (@LogKa11) March 17, 2023

Milley confidently affirmed that whatever Russians might recover would have “no real intelligence value.”

Moscow has indicated that they are still interested in recovering the drone with its Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, saying: “I don’t know whether we will be able to retrieve it or not, but that it has to be done. And we’ll certainly work on it.”

Patrushev says Russia has the appropriate technology to recover debris from the seabed. With its established naval bases and airfields near the crash zone, he is optimistic that its forces will be able to retrieve parts of the Reaper wreck.

“I hope, of course, successfully,” the Russian Secretary said.

‘Impossible’ To Reverse-engineer

Built by General Atomics in the early 2000s primarily for the US Air Force, the MQ-9 Reaper (also known as “Predator B”) is a sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that serves as an offensive strike drone capable of performing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, close-air support, and combat search and rescue.

With its advanced features, including wide-range sensors, a multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons, the MQ-9 is also more than capable of undertaking precision strikes and other time-sensitive missions.

https://twitter.com/WinRussiawill/status/1636316287876976646

Living up to its hunter-killer role, the American drone has become one of America’s most significant military assets. For years it has earned the curious attention of potentially hostile nations like Russia and Iran.

In a Facebook post, Ukrainian expert Oleksandr Karpyuk shared his thoughts on speculations about whether Russia would replicate the MQ-9 if the recovery efforts succeeded.

And he said it would be impossible for Moscow to copy such sophisticated technology unless they’d develop a satellite similar to what the MQ-9 drones are using. This prime feature makes the American UAV a superior drone technology.

General Atomics designed the Reaper to allow its operators to fly the remote-controlled vehicle anywhere globally while remaining stateside through a constellation of satellites.

“So, when you look at how and what decisions Russia and Iran have been copying all this time from foreign drones, you realize that the main thing they were copying was the form of the planner and the internal layout of the knots. This is their level. They will be able to copy the Reaper only in the form of a model,” Karpyuk wrote, translated by The Defense Post.

Any foreign adversary would have difficulty constructing an exact, functioning replica of the Reaper.