US says Russian jets harassment in Syria airspace increases
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The United States (US) revealed that Russian war jets, once again, intercepted US MQ-9 Reaper drones over Syria on Friday, marking increasing friction between the two militaries in airspace.
This is the third time this week the Russian war jets intercepted the US drones over Syria, according to US media.
Commander of US Air Forces Central Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said in a news release “Earlier today three MQ-9 drones were once again harassed by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria.”
Grynkewich was cited by the CNN as saying, “During the almost two hour encounter, Russian aircraft flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.”
On July 6, Russian fighter jets harassed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that was conducting a mission against Islamic State (ISIS) targets in northwest Syria.
One of the Russian jets dropped flares in front of US drone in an apparent attempt to hit the drone, forcing it to take evasive maneuvers, the Air Force said.
On July 5, the US Air Forces Central publicized a video showed three Russian war jets close in on three US MQ-9 aircrafts that were taking part in a mission against ISIS over Syria.
The three Russian jets dropped parachute flares in front of the US drones, forcing the drones to take “evasive maneuvers.”
The Commander of US Air Forces Central urged Russia to adhere to “norms of a professional Air Force” in order to maintain the focus on “ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS.”
The French Armed Forces revealed that a Russian SU-35 fighter jet conducted on July 6 a “non-professional interaction” with two French Rafale fighter jets that were flying a mission near the Iraq-Syria border, according to CNN.
On July 4, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria, revealed that Syria and Russia would launch six-day joint air defense exercises on July 5 to “work out the issues of joint actions of aviation, air defense and electronic warfare forces in repulsion of air strikes.”
The past three US administrations have maintained a small contingent of US troops in Syria — about 900 at any given time, augmented by hundreds more contractors — who work with the Syrian democratic Forces (SDF) to prevent a resurgence by ISIS militants in the country.
In June, the US deployed its F-22 Raptors, the best fifth-generation fighter in the world, to the Middle East responding to “unprofessional behavior by Russian aircraft in the region.”
Over the last several years, the US and Russia have used a deconfliction line between the two militaries in Syria to avoid unintentional mistakes or encounters that can inadvertently lead to escalation.