It was the second time in 24 hours that Russia has harassed US drones in the area.
“We call on the Russian forces in Syria to desist from this reckless behavior and abide by the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so that we can resume our focus on the permanent defeat of ISIS,” the command chief explained. US Air Force Central Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, in a statement. ISIS is what the extremist group Islamic State is also called.
Colonel Michael Andrews, spokesman for Air Force Central Command, said that “Russian harassment, including close flyovers by SU-34 and SU-35 and the deployment of flares directly at MQ-9s, lasted for almost a hour. So it wasn’t a quick step, but it was a much more sustained and unprofessional interaction.”
The Air Force distributed videos of the two incidents that occurred on Wednesday and Thursday. In the first encounter, which occurred at 10:40 a.m. local time on Wednesday in northwest Syria, Russian SU-35 fighters approached a Reaper and one of the Russian pilots positioned himself in front of the drone and activated the afterburner, which greatly increases its speed and pressure.
The afterburner ignition can damage the Reaper’s electronics, and Grynkewich noted that this reduced the operator’s ability to safely maneuver the aircraft.
Subsequently, several so-called parachute flares were dropped into the drone’s flight path. Flares are attached to parachutes.
In the second incident, which occurred over northwestern Syria at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday local time, “a Russian aircraft dropped flares in front of the drones and flew dangerously close, endangering the safety of all aircraft involved,” Grynkewich said.
The drones were not equipped with weapons and are usually used for reconnaissance missions.
Army General Erik Kurilla, head of Central Command, said in a statement that Russia’s violation of efforts to clear airspace over Syria “increases the risk of escalation or miscalculation.”
The United States has about 900 troops in Syria to work with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the fight against Islamic State insurgents in the country. No further details were given about the drone operation.
FUENTE: Associated Press
