U.S. Claims Its Drones Got ‘Harassed’ Over Syria For Third Time This W…
A fully armed MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle taxis down the runway at an air base in Afghanistan on its way to another wartime mission. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson).
The United States Air Force said that its drones were “harassed” again by Russian fighter jets while operating over Syria on July 7.
“Earlier today three MQ-9 drones were once again harassed by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria,” commander of US Air Forces Central Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich said in a news release. “During the almost two hour encounter, Russian aircraft flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.”
“We continue to encourage Russia to return to the established norms of a professional Air Force so we can all return our focus to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Grynkewich added.
The incident marked the third time this week that the U.S. claimed its drones were harassed in the airspace of the war-torn country.
On July 5, the U.S. Air Force claimed that three Russian fighter jets dropped parachute flares in front of three drones, forcing the drones to take evasive maneuvers. One Russian jet also lit its afterburner in front of a drone, limiting the operator’s ability to safely operate the vehicle.
The next day, July 6, the U.S. said that Russian fighter jets harassed a drone that was conducting a mission against 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 previously said.
Responding to the U.S. new accusations, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, deputy commander of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, said that there were two cases of MQ-9 drones appearing on the routes of flights by Russian fighter jets on July 7.
“Of particular concern are two cases when MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicles of the international anti-terrorist coalition appeared on the routes of Russian aerospace forces’ planes,” the commander said, adding that in both cases, the coalition’s drones were using their fire guidance systems on Russian planes, automatically triggering their onboard defense systems to fire at false heat targets.
“The Russian pilots demonstrated a high degree of professionalism and took timely measures to prevent collisions with the coalition’s drones,” he stressed.
According to Gurinov, nine violations of deconfliction protocols by U.S. drones were reported during the day, including seven over an area in northern Syria that was closed for flights in connection with Russian-Syrian joint drills.
The commander noted that the Russian side bears no responsibility for the safety of flights by U.S. drones, especially over the drills area, that were not agreed with it.
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, which began on July 5. According to the Russian defense ministry, the exercises will continue until mid-July.
It’s worth noting that the U.S. operations in Syria are not greenlighted by Damascus, who consider the presence of American troops on Syrian territory to be an occupation.
The U.S. repeated violations of the flight safety protocols and its refusal to coordinate with the Russian side could eventually lead to an incident.
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