A Russian fighter jet flew inside a couple of metres of a US drone over Syria and fired flares at it, placing the American plane and damaging it, the US army mentioned Tuesday.
A senior Air Drive commander mentioned the transfer on Sunday was an try by the Russians to knock the MQ-9 Reaper drone out of the sky and got here only a week after a Russian fighter jet flew dangerously near a US surveillance plane carrying a crew within the area, jeopardising the lives of the 4 American crew members.
One of many Russian flares struck the US MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller, Lt Gen Alex Grynkewich, the top of US Air Forces Central, mentioned in an announcement describing the most recent shut name. “We name upon the Russian forces in Syria to place an instantaneous finish to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behaviour.”
Grynkewich mentioned one of many crew members working the drone remotely stored it within the air and flew it again to its dwelling base.
The Sunday incident is the most recent in a sequence of encounters between Russian fighter jets and US plane flying over Syria. In all however one occasion every week in the past, the US plane had been MQ-9 drones with out crew members. On that Sunday, nevertheless, the Russian Su-35 jet flew near a US MC-12 surveillance plane with a crew, forcing it to undergo the turbulent wake.
US officers on the time referred to as it a big escalation within the ongoing string of encounters between US and Russian plane that would have resulted in an accident or lack of life. They mentioned the Russian transfer hampered the crew members’ capability to securely function their aircraft.
In current weeks, US officers mentioned, Russian fighter jets have repeatedly harassed US MQ-9 drones, that are conducting anti-Islamic State group missions, largely in western Syria.
On a number of events previously three weeks, the officers mentioned, Russian fighter jets flew dangerously near the US Reapers, setting off flares and forcing the drones to take evasive manoeuvres. US and Russian army officers talk ceaselessly over a deconfliction telephone line in the course of the encounters, protesting the opposite aspect’s actions.
There are about 900 US forces in Syria, and others transfer out and in to conduct missions concentrating on Islamic State group militants.
