The U.S. military released dramatic video of a tense encounter on Wednesday over the skies of eastern Syria as Russian fighter jets were seen "harassing" three American military drones carrying out a mission against the Islamic State group, an official tell.
The U.S. Air Force general in the Middle East called on Russia to stop carried out by pilots flying over eastern Syria where the U.S. still has 900 troops assisting in anti-terrorism efforts.
... Wednesday's incident is the latest in a string of dozens of what officials describe as provocative Russian flights over eastern Syria, which prompted the U.S. to send F-22 Raptors to deter flights above American military bases there. Multiple cameras and sensors aboard the three MQ-9 Reaper drones captured in vivid detail how the Russian Su-35 jets on Wednesday dropped parachuted flares in the drones' path and one of the jets used its afterburners in front of one of the drones. The quick declassification of the video capturing the encounter recalled a similar video released in March to show a Russian pilot's similar harassment of an MQ-9 flying in international airspace above the Black Sea, resulting in a collision, officials tell them. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the commander of the Ninth Air Force and the combined forces air component commander for U.S. Central Command, tell in a statement that Russia initiated the altercation.
The U.S. Air Force general in the Middle East called on Russia to stop carried out by pilots flying over eastern Syria where the U.S. still has 900 troops assisting in anti-terrorism efforts.
... Wednesday's incident is the latest in a string of dozens of what officials describe as provocative Russian flights over eastern Syria, which prompted the U.S. to send F-22 Raptors to deter flights above American military bases there. Multiple cameras and sensors aboard the three MQ-9 Reaper drones captured in vivid detail how the Russian Su-35 jets on Wednesday dropped parachuted flares in the drones' path and one of the jets used its afterburners in front of one of the drones. The quick declassification of the video capturing the encounter recalled a similar video released in March to show a Russian pilot's similar harassment of an MQ-9 flying in international airspace above the Black Sea, resulting in a collision, officials tell them. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the commander of the Ninth Air Force and the combined forces air component commander for U.S. Central Command, tell in a statement that Russia initiated the altercation.
Tags:
USA News