Russian planes continue to harass US drones in Syria for a second consecutive day.

Russian Aircraft Engage in Dangerous Close Encounters with U.S. Drones

For the second consecutive day, Russian aircraft have flown dangerously close to U.S. drones over Syria, raising concerns about the safety of both Coalition and Russian forces. The latest incident occurred on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, when Russian SU-34 and SU-35 jets dropped flares in the flight path of a U.S. MQ-9 aircraft. This provocative behavior was witnessed by Alex Grynkewich, the top U.S. Air Force commander in the Middle East.

“Three Russian fighter jets began harassing those drones, using things like parachute flares to drop in front of them, as well as one aircraft engaging its afterburner, clearly meant to harass and clearly unprofessional and unsafe behavior on the part of the Russians,” said Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon spokesman.

The Pentagon released a declassified video of the incident, which clearly shows a Russian SU-35 positioning itself in front of the U.S. drone and dropping parachute-born flares into its path. This reckless behavior is not limited to U.S. drones alone, as the French military reported that two of its Rafale fighter jets had to take evasive maneuvers during a counter-ISIS flight over eastern Syria on the same day.

This is not an isolated incident. Just a day earlier, Russian jets launched parachute flares at drones and flew dangerously close to them, forcing U.S. pilots to perform evasive maneuvers. These repeated instances of unprofessional and unsafe actions by Russian air forces operating in Syria pose a significant threat to the safety of all forces involved.

“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,” emphasized Alex Grynkewich.

In response to these escalating incidents, the U.S. Air Force recently deployed fighter aircraft to the Middle East as a show of force towards Russia. Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, expressed his concern about the regular violation of agreed-upon airspace deconfliction measures by Russian forces, emphasizing the need to improve security and stability in the region.

These recent events follow a collision between Russian pilots and a U.S. MQ-9 drone in March, which resulted in the U.S. military intentionally crashing the drone into the Black Sea to prevent sensitive intelligence from falling into the wrong hands. It is crucial to address these dangerous encounters to avoid further escalation or miscalculation.

Source: The Washington Examiner

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