WASHINGTON: Russian fighter aircraft dropped flares above a US drone as it took part in a mission against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, damaging its propeller, a US commander said Tuesday (Jul 25).
The United States has accused Russian pilots of putting both aircraft and crewmembers at risk with a series of unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvres this month over Syria, where Moscow’s forces are deployed to support President Bashar al-Assad.
On Sunday, “Russian fighter aircraft flew dangerously close to a US MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission, harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead,” US Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich said in a statement, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.
“One of the Russian flares struck the US MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller”, but it was able to return to its base, Grynkewich said, calling on “Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behaviour”.
While most of the recent incidents have involved harassment of drones, Grynkewich said a Russian jet “closely approached” a manned reconnaissance plane on Jul 16, forcing it to fly through the warplane’s wake turbulence and reducing the “crew’s ability to safely operate the aircraft”.
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