Irradiation of Russian aircraft with weapons guidance systems led to the automatic shooting of false thermal targets
Hmeimim. July 29. INTERFAX - The Russian military in Syria rejects the accusations of the US-led coalition in creating dangerous situations in Syrian airspace, blaming it on the coalition forces.
"The Russian side is seriously concerned about the incessant attempts by the United States to misinform the world community about the non-conflicting and illegal flights of its unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft in the airspace of Syria, accusing Russian crews of "dangerous approaches." At the same time, all dangerous situations in the Syrian sky are provoked precisely by the aviation of the International Anti-Terrorist Coalition, which is flying in violation of the Deconfliction Protocols of December 9, 2019 and with a gross violation of the airspace of the Syrian Arab Republic," the deputy head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in the SAR counter-Admiral Oleg Gurinov
He referred to data from the Deconfliction Center for Air and Ground Operations, according to which "coalition unmanned aerial vehicles"made 1,752 non-conflicted flights in 2023 in areas defined by Deconfliction Protocols, 340 of them in July 2023, including 92 from July 22 to July 28."
Since January 1, 2023, 1761 cases of violation of the SAR state border by coalition aircraft have been recorded. In July 2023, 213 cases were recorded, 68 of them from July 22 to July 28, Gurinov informed.
In July, 180 flights of coalition combat aircraft were recorded in the Syrian airspace in the area of Al-Tanf, through which international air routes pass, at a time when civilian aircraft were there, the rear admiral added.
"Once again, we draw attention to the fact that these illegal flights of coalition combat aircraft create dangerous prerequisites for aviation incidents and accidents involving civil aircraft," the deputy head of the Central Air Force stressed.
Moreover, he recalled that on July 12, 2023, in the area of Al-Tanf, the coalition forces conducted exercises using air defense equipment, which, according to Gurinov, posed a serious threat to civilian aircraft making regular flights.
During 2023, the rear admiral continued, the coalition aviation allowed 23 dangerous approaches to the aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, during 11 of which "the crews recorded the irradiation of Russian aircraft with weapons guidance systems, which led to the automatic activation of onboard defense systems and the shooting of false thermal targets."
Two such cases of dangerous rapprochement occurred in April, one in May, four in June and five in July. "Thus, there is a steady increase in the number of dangerous approaches by coalition aircraft," Gurinov stressed.
