US fury as Russian SU-35 damages American Reaper drone with flare while flying over Syria
- The ‘reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional’ incident happened over Syria at 12:23 am on Sunday, the US military said
- The drone’s propeller sustained visible damage while on a defeat-ISIS mission
- The US said the incident is the latest in a series of risky and provocative acts from the Russian military
A Russian fighter jet fired flares at an American MQ-9 Reaper drone whilst it was flying over Syria on Sunday, the US military has confirmed.
The incident, which damaged the drone’s propeller, has been denounced as the latest in a series of risky and provocative acts from the Russian military, the US said.
The drone was on a counter-terrorism mission against the Islamic State group when one of the flares hit the drone, ‘severely damaging its propeller,’ Air Forces Central Commander Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said.
‘On 23 July, 2023 at 12:23 a.m. (EST) Russian fighter aircraft flew dangerously close to a U.S. MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission, harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead, with only a few meters of separation between aircraft,’ Grynkewich explained.
Adding: ‘The Russian fighter’s blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behavior.’
A Russian fighter jet fired flares at an American drone whilst it was flying over Syria on Sunday, the US military has said
The incident damaged the MQ-9 Reaper drone’s propeller and has been denounced as the latest in a series of risky and provocative acts
Also last week a separate incident occurred when a Russian Su-35 fighter endangered the crew of a manned U.S. MC-12 by forcing it to fly through its wake turbulence, Air Forces Central claimed in a release.
‘This reduced the crew’s ability to safely operate the aircraft and put the four crewmembers’ lives at risk,’ the statement read.
Earlier in July Russian pilots dropped parachute flares into the paths of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones on two days in a row, the US said.
Although these drones were able to take evasive maneuvers to avoid damage they form part of the pattern.
In response Russia said the drones had entered airspace designated for a Russian-Syrian counter-drone exercise, ABC News reported.
‘It’s just an excuse to go after our MQ-9’s and try to intercept’ a senior US defense official told the outlet.
The Russian and US military have long used a ‘deconfliction hotline’ to keep each other informed of missions to avoid potentially dangerous misunderstandings.
The defense official told ABC that the hotline was still used but ‘sometimes gets very heated’ with back and forth encounters.
‘Russian fighter aircraft flew dangerously close to a U.S. MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission,’ the Air Force said in a statement
The US has accused the Russian military of ‘harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead, with only a few meters of separation between aircraft’
Visible damage can be seen on the drone’s propeller in images released by the Air Force
US military footage shows the incident which took place on 23 July, 2023 at 12:23 a.m. (EST)
The US currently has around 900 troops in eastern Syria assisting in the fight against IS.
Russia has a military presence in northwestern Syria as part of its mission to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Similar incidents have occurred between the powers in other parts of the world recently.
A Russian fighter collided with a US drone over the Black Sea in March.
The drone was forced to land off to coast of Ukraine as a result the defense official told ABC.
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