File image.
An MQ-9 Reaper combat drone of the United States-led coalition dangerously approached a fighter jet of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in Syria’s airspace, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria -a division of the Russian defense ministry-, announced.
“Between 10:24 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. on June 27, the coalition’s MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle made a dangerous approach to the Su-35 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces above the settlement of al-Suhne in the Homs governorate, at an altitude of from 7,000 to 8,000 meters,” Major General Yury Popov said in a briefing, adding that “the Russian plane was performing a scheduled flight in Syrian airspace” at the time of the incident.
The Russian pilot demonstrated high professionalism and took timely measures to prevent a collision, the military official noted.
Video footage of the dangerous encounter surfaced online on June 27. In the footage, the U.S.-led coalition drone appears to be fully-armed.
The incident took place just a day after an MQ-1C Grey Eagle of the coalition was reportedly shot down over U.S.-controlled areas in the eastern governorate of Deir Ezzor.
Some Syrian sources alleged that the drone was downed by Syrian air defenses, while others said that it was targeted by Iraqi armed factions in response to a drone strike a week earlier that killed an Iraqi fighter. The U.S. Central Command has not addressed the incident yet.
It is worth noting that this was the second time a U.S. drone flew dangerously close to a VKS warplane over Syria in less than a week. The first encounter was reported by the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria on June 24.
The U.S.-led coalition expanded its aerial operations over Syria last year which created unprecedented tensions with the Russian side.
While this unprofessional behavior will not likely lead to a confrontation with the Russian military group in Syria, it could eventually cause a serious incident in the country’s airspace.
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