The United States is outraged by the "unprofessional" actions of Russian pilots in Syria. CNN reports on a series of "dangerous maneuvers" made by a Su-35 fighter near an American reconnaissance aircraft. The States immediately announced that they would defend themselves – if necessary.
On Sunday, a Russian fighter jet made a series of dangerous maneuvers near an American reconnaissance aircraft in the skies over Syria, which led to further increased tensions between the two countries. This is at least the fifth case of a dangerous rapprochement between American and Russian military aircraft since the beginning of the month, which the United States considered unprofessional.
On Sunday morning, a Russian Su-35 flew dangerously close to an American MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft, forcing this less-high-speed turboprop machine to pass through its own turbulent wake. This was stated by the commander of the American Central Command of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich (Alex Grynkewich).
Because of this, the American crew lost the ability to safely operate the MS-12. The pilots' lives were under threat. Grinkevich said that the unsafe and unprofessional actions of Russian pilots "have reached a new level."
The general tried to downplay the degree of danger of the latest incidents, saying that the US military in the Middle East has the authority and capabilities to defend itself if necessary.
"If at some point one of our military feels that these are threatening actions with hostile intentions, he will defend himself," General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a media briefing on Tuesday. – We have a channel for conflict resolution, which the Central Command uses on a daily basis to prevent any kind of incidents and escalation. We are closely monitoring what is happening."
According to Milli, analysts are studying possible reasons for the increase in tension. He said that, apparently, this has nothing to do with the fighting in Ukraine.
This incident was preceded by a series of similar maneuvers by Russian fighter jets against American military aircraft in Syria. According to the military command, some incidents lasted for two hours.
On Wednesday, July 5, three Russian fighter jets began chasing and creating a dangerous situation for three American drones flying in the sky over Syria. Russian pilots released heat traps on parachutes in front of the drones, which caused the UAV operators to perform evasive maneuvers. One Russian plane turned on the afterburner in front of an American drone.
The next day, another Russian plane began dropping heat traps in the sky over Syria in front of American MQ-9 UAVs when they were performing a task to counter the Islamic State group*. He passed dangerously close to drones 18 times, forcing them to react in order to avoid risky situations. After this incident, the drones still struck a high-ranking leader of ISIS*.
And last Friday, the head of the US military department said that another Russian fighter jet made an unprofessional maneuver in the sky over Syria, flying near the MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Author of the article: Oren Liebermann
* ISIS, the "Islamic State" is a terrorist organization, banned in the Russian Federation. – Approx. InoSMI.
