A Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 flies past the audience during the 2019 Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, England, July 20, 2019. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Zima)
A Typhoon fighter jet of the United States-led coalition flew dangerously close to an An-30 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in Syrian airspace, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria said on July 4.
“Between 9:44 a.m. and 9:51 a.m. [6:44 a.m. and 6:51 a.m. GMT] on July 3, the coalition’s Typhoon fighter jet made an unsafe pass to an An-30 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces, performing a scheduled flight in Syria’s airspace, above the al-Tanf area of the Homs governorate,” Major General Yury Popov said.
“The Russian pilot demonstrated high professionalism and took timely measures to avert a collision,” the military official added.
The only Typhoon fighter jets operating over Syria as a part of the U.S.-led coalition are that of the Royal Air Force. The United Kingdom has not yet addressed the reported incident.
Around 200 U.S. troops are usually deployed at garrison in al-Tanf. British special forces were also spotted in the garrison before. The coalition maintains a 55-kilometer no-fly zone around al-Tanf. Despite this, VKS warplanes fly over the garrison on a regular basis.
The U.S.-led coalition’s operations in al-Tanf and other parts of Syria, mainly the northeastern governorates of al-Hasakh and Deir Ezzor,, which are allegedly directed against ISIS, are not authorized by the country’s government who consider the coalition to be an occupation force.
On the other hand, the Russian military operates against ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria under an agreement with the government.
The coalition expanded its aerial operations over Syria recently, which led to unprecedented tensions with the Russian side.
Just last month, three dangerous aerial encounters by coalition drones were reported by the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria. This behavior could eventually lead to a serious incident.
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