to me again US military officials said that in the course of two days Thursday, Russian fighter jets engaged in “unsafe and unprofessional behavior” toward US Air Force drones over Syria.
The MQ-9 Reaper drones were conducting an operation against Islamic State targets at around 9:30 a.m. local time Thursday when several Russian jets dropped flares in front of the drones and flew dangerously close to them, according to a statement from the lieutenant general. Alexus G. Grynkewich, Commander, Ninth Air Force, a component of the Air Force Service of US Central Command.
A video of the confrontation was also shown released by the Air Force. and he did not mention any further details.
This followed a similar incident on Wednesday morning, also over Syria, in which three MQ-9 drones were harassed by three Russian fighter jets while also on a mission against ISIS, according to the Air Force.
In that instance, according to Greenwich, the planes dropped “multi-parachute flares in front of the drones,” subsequently forcing them to “make evasive maneuvers.”
This represents at least Third encounter of this kind this year between American drones and Russian combat aircraft. The Pentagon in March Video released A Russian fighter jet collides with an Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace, causing the drone to crash into the Black Sea.
“The United States will continue to fly and operate wherever international law allows, and Russia has an obligation to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at the time.
According to the Air Force, MQ-9 Reaper drone It is mainly used for intelligence gathering, but it can also be armed With up to eight laser-guided Hellfire missiles.
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