The US will continue to launch drones over the Black Sea after the MQ-9 Reaper crash, but now the drones will fly closer to Turkey

The United States will not completely cancel drone flights over the Black Sea. However, the route will have to be slightly modified.

Here's What We Know

As you know, Russian Su-27 fighters "attacked" a US MQ-9 Reaper drone, which was unarmed, although it can carry air-to-air missiles. The aircraft caught the propeller of the drone with its wing, causing it to crash.

A few days after the crash, a Northrop RQ-4B Global Hawk drone went to the scene of the air crash. It not only flew over the site where the MQ-9 Reaper and Su-27 made contact. The Northrop Grumman UAV headed towards the Russian Federation. 150km from the city of Sochi, it turned around, made several circles in the air and headed for Romania.

The day before it became known that the US was considering abandoning UAV operations in the Black Sea. According to CNN, US drones will still continue to fly over the Black Sea, but their route will be changed.

The US will launch the drones further south, away from the airspace that surrounds the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula, i.e. closer to Turkey. The source, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, says this is being done "so as not to provoke Russia".

General Pat Ryder said the U.S. would use drones in the Black Sea in international airspace without violating international law. But the exact routes and details of the missions have so far remained secret for security reasons.

That said, individual US officials want the drones to return to routes controlled by the Russian Federation.

Source: CNN