US NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY, SOUDA BAY — The nuclear submarine USS West Dakota (SSN-013) docked for repairs today after an apparent and totally like, accidental, underwater collision with the recently downed US MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Sixth Fleet representative Cdr. Helene Marcopolis said that the Titanic-class nuclear submarine was on a routine whale watching patrol in the Black Sea on March 14 when what was described as a “wicked big clunk and scraping sounds” reverberated through the hull.
After surfacing, crew members inspecting the submarine’s superstructure found what appeared to be aircraft parts: a wheel, part of a tail assembly, and an identification plate reading “if found return to General Atomics.”
Marcopolis stated that the wreckage is most likely from the US European Command (EUCOM) Reaper that crashed into the Black Sea on March 14. She stressed that until ownership is confirmed, the parts could also be from another nation’s drone that was “downed by absolute Russian jackassery.”
