Russian jet blasts US military drone with flares and severely damages it in Putin's latest 'reckless' provocation
26 July 2023, 11:45
A Russian fighter jet has blasted a US military drone with flares in Moscow's latest act of provocation.
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The US Air Force said its Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle was flying over Syria as part of the anti-Isis mission when the jet flew "dangerously close" to it.
It then fired flares, which are used to distract heat-seeking missiles, at the drone as it flew above it.
One of the flares hit the drone and caused "severe" damage to the propeller, air force commander Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich said.
But the drone was able to fly back to base.
"On 23 July, 2023 at 12:23 a.m. (EST) Russian fighter aircraft flew dangerously close to a U.S. MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission, harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead, with only a few meters of separation between aircraft," Lt Gen Grynkewich, the commander of US air forces for Central Command, which covers the Middle East, said.
Russia blasts US Reaper drone with flares
"The Russian fighter's blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS.
"We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behaviour."
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It comes just days after an Su-35 fighter jet flew ahead of a manned MC-12 turboprop aircraft, forcing it to fly in its turbulent wake.
Washington complained that it put the lives of four crewmen on board at risk.
Other drones have had flares fired at them, with Russia claiming they had flown into areas reserved for Russian and Syrian anti-drone exercises, while the US dismissed the claims.
In March, an American drone crashed into the Black Sea after it was hit by a close-flying Russian jet.
Previously, Moscow's forces were involved in a serious incident over the Black Sea with an RAF Rivet Joint spy plane, in which a missile was fired by a Russian jet.
The missile missed and it was chalked up publicly as a malfunction.
But it was later claimed the incident was actually a near shoot-down, with a Russian pilot misinterpreting what he was told over the radio.
The missile failed to fire properly, The New York Times was told.
