The U.S. military has the most extensive reach of any military in the world.
We can get anywhere at any time.
We also routinely conduct aerial surveillance operations and freedom of navigation missions around the globe, even - or rather, especially - in contested territory.
It's a projection of strength and resolve, and it often yields vital information and data.
Of course, that also means U.S. forces are harassed on a fairly routine basis.
For example, as far back as 2020, the Pentagon estimated that roughly 90% of U.S. reconnaissance flights over the Black Sea were being intercepted by Russian jets.
However, what's discomforting about this week's confrontation is that the MQ-9 Reaper drone being harassed was knocked out of commission and crashed into the Black Sea.
That much is fairly certain, because on Thursday the Pentagon released declassified footage of the incident corroborating their claims.
What's not clear is whether or not the collision was intentional.
On the one hand, it may not have been...
Yes, the Russian pilots were obviously dispatched to harass the Reaper. That's something they accomplished by dumping gallons of fuel on it.
But they weren't necessarily meant to disable it. That might have been the accidental result of human error - a drunk Russian pilot just getting a little too close, you know?
Or maybe they did mean to do it.
After all, Russia is losing a war to a supposedly inferior enemy thanks in large part to the financial and military assistance being provided by the United States and its allies.
Of course they're pissed. Pissed and desperate.
But rather than straightforwardly shoot the drone down, creating an even bigger incident and further antagonizing the United States, it makes more sense to "accidentally" bump into it.
In that context, even if it were a mistake, it's one Vladimir Putin would probably term a "happy accident."
Especially when you consider Russian forces immediately raced to the area of the crash in an effort to recover the wreckage.
Or attempt to, anyway. There's no sign yet that they've been successful in that endeavor. And if their vessels loiter too long 70 miles off the coast of Crimea, they could become targets for Ukrainian forces.