Words by Wes O'Donnell
Rostec, a state-owned Russian arms and technology company, have stated that U.S. scout-attack MQ-5B surveillance drone performing reconnaissance over Crimea was brought after being electronically hacked through the use of technology which they developed. They claim that while the drone was flying in Crimean airspace it was electronically disabled and fell to the ground as a result. The condition of the drone was incredibly good considering the circumstances.
Voice of Russia, a state-owned news operation which is a division of Interfax, a Russian non-governmental news agency, claims that “electronic warfare” was responsible for bringing down the drone which is now in possession of the Russian military.
It appears that the 66th US Reconnaissance Brigade based in Bavaria were the operators of the drone according to the identification number.
It is still uncertain whether the drone was shot down by the Russians or whether they are in possession of the drone. No evidence has been uncovered as of yet to validate this claim. Once an image appears more information will be available. This is not the first time an American drone has been intercepted. Iran has stated they have made several interceptions in the past. The fact that the U.S. was performing surveillance over Crimea is not a shocking revelation that would be of any surprise given recent events.