Russian jet damages US drone in latest encounter over Syria

WASHINGTON — A Russian fighter jet damaged an American MQ-9 Reaper drone early Sunday in the latest dangerous air encounter with the US military over Syria, the Air Force said Tuesday.

The Russian aircraft flew “dangerously close” to the US drone at approximately 12:23 a.m. local time, “harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead, with only a few meters of separation between aircraft,” US Air Forces Central commander Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said in a statement.

Dramatic video shows the Russian aircraft approaching the Reaper drone, coming so close that the American craft’s camera captured images of the pilot in the cockpit.

Soon after, the footage cuts to the Russian jet flying over the top of the American drone and deploying four flares — at least one of which struck the Reaper, “severely damaging its propeller,” AFCENT said.

Images released alongside the video show a large, black burn mark near the tip of the propeller, which was bent and mangled by the heat and force of the flare.

However, the damage was not enough to take the drone out of the sky, according to Grynkewich.

“Fortunately, the MQ-9 crew was able to maintain flight and safely recover the aircraft to its home base,” he said.

As in similar incidents this month, the drone was conducting a mission against ISIS in Syria when Russia interfered.

The US has not said what may have provoked the Russian behavior or precisely where over Syria each incident took place. 

“The Russian fighter’s blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Grynkewich said. “We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked and unprofessional behavior.”

The latest clash came one week after another Russian Su-35 jet flew close to a manned US MC-12 aircraft “in an unsafe and unprofessional manner” that was “against established norms and protocols,” according to Grynkewich.

The incident forced the American twin-engine turboprop aircraft to fly through the Su-35’s wake turbulence, which reduced the crew’s ability to safely operate the aircraft and put the four crew members’ lives at risk, he said.

Sunday’s encounter also came less than three weeks after Russian aircraft dropped a series of flares in front of American drones in back-to-back incidents July 5 and 6, making dangerous maneuvers around American MQ-9 Reapers also targeting ISIS over Syria.

In video released by the Air Force earlier this month, several Su-35s could be seen deploying flares in front of three of the unmanned US aircraft.

At one point, a Russian jet cut in front of one of the drones and activated its afterburner, which reduced the ability to safely operate the US aircraft.

Days later, the same three MQ-9 Reaper drones were used to kill senior ISIS leader Usamah al-Muhajir in eastern Syria, according to US Central Command.