The US military reported on Tuesday that a Russian aircraft damaged the US drone’s propeller by launching flares at it over Syria.
The commander of US Air Forces Central, Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich, revealed in a statement that on Sunday, a Russian fighter aircraft harassed and fired flares at a US MQ-9 drone that was on an ISIS-defeating mission from a position directly overhead, with only a few metres separating the two aircraft.
“One of the Russian flares struck the US MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller. Fortunately, the MQ-9 crew was able to maintain flight and safely recover the aircraft to its home base,” the head of US Air Forces Central told the media.
“The Russian fighter’s blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behaviour,” he added.
Sunday’s incident is the most recent in a string of run-ins between US and Russian fighter aircraft over Syria.
A similar event occurred over the Black Sea in March when a Russian Su-27 fighter plane collided with a similar US drone, destroying its propeller and causing it to crash into the ocean, according to CNN.
Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated last week that US analysts are looking at possible causes for the rise in aggressive Russian acts.
According to CNN, US sources claimed that some of the incidents above Syria continued for as long as two hours.
The United States (US) military also claimed that a US aircraft was earlier engaged by Russian military aircraft in Syria on July 16 in what it termed “an unsafe and unprofessional manner.”
Grynkewich, the head of US Air Forces Central, in a statement dated July 18, said, “A US MC-12 was conducting operations in support of the Coalitions Defeat ISIS mission was closely approached by a Russian Su-35 against established norms and protocols, forcing the MC-12 to fly through its wake turbulence.”
“This reduced the crew’s ability to safely operate the aircraft and put the four crewmembers’ lives at risk. These actions against a manned aircraft represent a new level of unsafe and unprofessional actions by Russian aircraft operating in Syria. We strongly urge Russian forces in Syria to cease reckless and threatening behaviour that could result in an accident and loss of life, and adhere to the standards of behaviour expected of a professional force,” he added.
