Key takeaways:
- A Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to a U.S. hunter-killer drone over Syria on Sunday, deploying a flare that severely damaged the drone’s propeller.
- The drone was on a mission to defeat ISIS when the incident occurred.
- The U.S. military has accused Russia of engaging in unsafe and unprofessional behavior in the region in the past.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Air Force reported that a Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to a U.S. hunter-killer drone over Syria on Sunday, deploying a flare that severely damaged the drone’s propeller. The drone was on a mission to defeat ISIS when the incident occurred.
Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the head of U.S. Air Forces Central, said in a news release Tuesday that the MQ-9 drone was on a “defeat-ISIS mission” when the Russian plane came within a few feet of it at 12.23 a.m. ET on Sunday.
“The Russian fighter’s blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Grynkewich said.
A video of the incident shows the powder-blue Russian plane approaching the drone and flying past it. The U.S. Air Force said the drone was an MQ-9 Reaper, an unmanned aircraft that is primarily used as an intelligence collection asset.
The incident is the latest in a series of close encounters between U.S. and Russian aircraft in the region. The U.S. military has accused Russia of engaging in unsafe and unprofessional behavior in the past.
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