3 ms·

Really curious if the MQ-9 was armed. I don't think they'll tell us, but that would help color the incident a bit better if we did have that level of detail.

meepmorp 4y ago
Almost certainly not armed. It's there for surveillance, not to hit targets; no point in carrying the weight unless you're expecting a fight
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- rbanffy 4y ago
  Besides that, I wouldn't expect the US to use an MQ-9 to hit anything discreetly. There are much better tools for that.
  - somat 4y ago
    I stumbled on a video yesterday about the battle of Khasham, after a bit of research it is probably mostly hyperbola but there are some truths in there, one of which was that the first shots to stop the convoy were via mq-9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viuUzGGac5M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viuUzGGac5M It is a dark subject but I admit I laughed when the video got to the part where a b-52 was involved, a hulking monster of a strategic bomber, "Ahh man you tactical bombers get to have all the fun. Ok, get your lumbering ass over here, we are trying to send a message, so you get to drop some bombs too."
    - gibspaulding 4y ago
      I love that we're still flying B52's. That plane first flew closer to the Wright Flyer than to today. (By a lot!)
some_random 4y ago
Seeing as it was over the Black Sea monitoring the invasion of Ukraine, it seems extraordinarily unlikely that it would have been armed.
gorkish 4y ago
Whether or not the MQ-9 was armed is so far down the list of logical arguments about why a Russian pilot would go kamikaze on and collide with an unmanned aircraft, it's not even a sensible question to ask. A better question to ask is what would provoke a Russian pilot to act so recklessly? Here are three ideas: 1) Lack of pilot training 2) Command has no authority 3) Command is incompetent
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  Back during WWII, British pilots where known to use their wingtips to destabilize and crash the German V1 cruise bombs. Maybe the Russian pilot had the same thought. Shooting down a drone is a hard thing to deny or handwave away as a justifiable act, but accidentally contacting it while trying to intercept it and direct it is an acceptable incident.

meepmorp 4y ago

Almost certainly not armed. It's there for surveillance, not to hit targets; no point in carrying the weight unless you're expecting a fight

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
rbanffy 4y ago
Besides that, I wouldn't expect the US to use an MQ-9 to hit anything discreetly. There are much better tools for that.
- somat 4y ago
  I stumbled on a video yesterday about the battle of Khasham, after a bit of research it is probably mostly hyperbola but there are some truths in there, one of which was that the first shots to stop the convoy were via mq-9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viuUzGGac5M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viuUzGGac5M It is a dark subject but I admit I laughed when the video got to the part where a b-52 was involved, a hulking monster of a strategic bomber, "Ahh man you tactical bombers get to have all the fun. Ok, get your lumbering ass over here, we are trying to send a message, so you get to drop some bombs too."
  - gibspaulding 4y ago
    I love that we're still flying B52's. That plane first flew closer to the Wright Flyer than to today. (By a lot!)

some_random 4y ago

Seeing as it was over the Black Sea monitoring the invasion of Ukraine, it seems extraordinarily unlikely that it would have been armed.

gorkish 4y ago

Whether or not the MQ-9 was armed is so far down the list of logical arguments about why a Russian pilot would go kamikaze on and collide with an unmanned aircraft, it's not even a sensible question to ask. A better question to ask is what would provoke a Russian pilot to act so recklessly? Here are three ideas: 1) Lack of pilot training 2) Command has no authority 3) Command is incompetent

mrguyorama 4y ago
Back during WWII, British pilots where known to use their wingtips to destabilize and crash the German V1 cruise bombs. Maybe the Russian pilot had the same thought. Shooting down a drone is a hard thing to deny or handwave away as a justifiable act, but accidentally contacting it while trying to intercept it and direct it is an acceptable incident.