A MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle prepares to land after a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
The United States Air Force has accused the Russian military of harassing its drones over Syria for the second time in two days.
Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich, the U.S. commander responsible for air operations in the Middle East, said that on July 6 a MQ-9 combat drone was conducting a mission against ISIS targets in northwestern Syria when Russian fighter jets approached.
One of the Russian jets then began dropping flares in front of the American drone in an apparent attempt to hit the drone, forcing it to take evasive maneuvers, the commander claimed.
Meanwhile, Colonel Michael Andrews, a spokesman for Air Force Central Command, said the two Russian fighters, an Su-34 and Su-35, engaged for almost an hour in a “sustained” and “unprofessional” interaction.
Video of the encounter released by the command shows two Russian fighters flying near the American drone. One of the fighters then releases a series of flares as it passes over the drone.
“These events represent another example of unprofessional and unsafe actions by Russian air forces operating in Syria, which threaten the safety of both Coalition and Russian forces,” Grynkewich said in a statement. “We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS.”
A day earlier, the U.S. Air Force claimed that three Russian fighter jets harassed three of its drones over Syria’s northern region.
In response to these accusations, Oleg Gurinov, deputy head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, said that the fire control systems of American drones operating over the country emit signals that target Russian warplanes and automatically trigger their defensive aide suites, which release flares.
“Of particular concern are reports received from pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces, who registered cases of U.S. drones using their electronic fire guidance systems on Russian warplanes, automatically triggering their on-board defensive aide suites,” said the commander.
Gurinov added that Russia continues to register ongoing violation of deconfliction protocols, committed by drones of the U.S.-led coalition in Syria.
“Nine violations were registered over the past 24 hours. All of them occurred in the area in northern Syria, closed for all air traffic amid the joint Russian-Syrian military exercise,” he said.
The first stage of the joint Russian-Syrian aerial drills began on July 5. According to the Russian defense ministry, the exercises will continue until mid-July.
While the U.S. claims that its drones are operating over Syria against ISIS, it is possible that they are in fact spying on the Russian-Syrian drills.
Tensions between U.S. and Russian forces in Syria have been mounting since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine. The U.S. Air Force attempts to expand its drone operations over the war-torn country without coordinating with the Russian side will eventually lead to a serious escalation.
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just what is the professional protocol when encountering dangerous killers and thieving invaders of syrian airspace locking on russian war planes.
how can russia be a danger to americans when they are using unmanned vehicles?
exactly my thought as well
otázkou je čo robili usa drony nad sýriou? nie sú tam vítaní to by mali mať na mysli v prvom a poslednom rade. majú šťastie, že ich nedali dolu. rf by mala vyzbrojiť sýriu a to čím skôr.
operation “enduring freedom” : how damn arrogant as if americans defined freedom for the rest of humanity, while americans violate the sovereignty of syria by unilaterally occupying vast swaps of the country…
“americans will end up being hated by everyone ; even by their most unconditional allies.” charles de gaulle, 1963
the americans hated de gaulle even in ww2 because he was first a frenchman and independent minded.
where do these us drones take off from? military bases in iraq or qatar? aircraft carrier?
just shoot it down.
“harassed” means: others did to the us what they do to others all the time.
jens always harass me rectum
then the us needs to keep their mq’s and nose out of syria.
harassing? in a country where they’re not suppose to be in. pound sand.
fight fire with fire, thats the only way, if they manipulate a country to go after you, then bite them hard, so hard they will remember twice before try to turn syria or ukraine into dumpster again. if they bite you and you just stay calm, they will push harder and harder next time. so, if peace must be achieved, send a strong punch and show you wont play anymore in the masters of the universe creators of the neverending corrupt empire and players of machiavelic schemes and games worldwide.
russia is defending isis not interested in stopping the war, but to capitalize on endless war in syria. all the while us is trying to get rid of the terrorists. amateurish, really amateurish.