U.S. army drones conducting an operation towards Islamic State targets in Syria have been harassed by Russian fighter jets, authorities mentioned Wednesday. It marks at the very least the second such incident this yr.
Three MQ-9 Reaper drones have been engaged by three Russian fighter jets at about 10:40 a.m. native time, in response to an announcement from Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, commander of the Ninth Air Pressure, an Air Pressure Service Part of U.S. Central Command.
Grynkewich mentioned the jets broke “established norms and protocols” by dropping “a number of parachute flares in entrance of the drones,” subsequently forcing them to “conduct evasive maneuvers.”
One of many Russian pilots additionally positioned their jet in entrance of a drone and “engaged afterburner, thereby decreasing” the drone “operator’s potential to soundly function the plane,” Grynkewich mentioned.
U.S. Air Pressure
He described the Russian pilots’ actions as “unprofessional and unsafe.”
“We urge Russian forces in Syria to stop this reckless habits and cling to the requirements of habits anticipated of an expert air power so we are able to resume our deal with the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Grynkewich mentioned.
Drone video of the encounter was launched by the Air Pressure.
That is at the very least the second time this year {that a} confrontation between U.S. drones and Russian fighter jets has occurred. The Pentagon in March released video of a Russian fighter jet colliding with a U.S. Air Pressure MQ-9 Reaper drone in worldwide air house, inflicting the drone to crash into the Black Sea.
“The US will proceed to fly and to function wherever worldwide regulation permits, and it’s incumbent upon Russia to function its army plane in a protected {and professional} method,” U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned on the time.
In accordance with the Air Pressure, an MQ-9 Reaper drone is primarily used for intelligence gathering, however may also be equipped with as much as eight laser-guided Hellfire missiles.
— Tucker Reals and Alex Sundby contributed to this report.
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