Last update: April 30, 2023, 09:45 IST
Washington, United States
A video capture shows Russian Su-34 bombers and a Tupolev Tu-154 (L) transport plane flying over an unknown location en route from Hmeimim airbase in Syria to their permanent bases in the Russian Federation. (AFP)
The Russian pilots did not appear to be trying to shoot down American planes, but they may have been trying to “provoke” the United States and “drag them into an international incident.”
Russian pilots attempted to fight off US planes over Syria, in one of several recent attempts at aggressive behavior by Moscow pilots, according to a report.
The Russian pilots did not appear to be trying to shoot down American jets, but they may have been trying to “provoke” the United States and “drag us into an international incident”, according to a CNN report quoting a US official.
Armed Russian warplanes have been acting hostile since March 1, leading US military officials to worry about the possibilities of miscalculation and escalation.
Dogfighting, in military aviation, engages in aerial combat, often at very close range.
However, this is not the first case where Russian pilots have shown aggressive behavior while patrolling the air.
A video from April 2 shows a Russian SU-35 fighter jet carrying out a “dangerous and unprofessional” intercept of a US F-16 fighter jet. Another video from April 18 shows a Russian plane violating coalition airspace and coming within 2,000 feet of a US plane.
American pilots were warned by officers not to engage with the Russians.
The United States and Russia have for several years used a deconfliction line between the two armies in Syria to avoid a meeting that could lead to an escalation.
The report said U.S. officials contacted their Russian counterparts about the incidents and the Russians responded, but “never in a way that acknowledged the incident.”
Officials say Russian planes have violated deconfliction protocols 85 times since March, including flying too close to coalition bases and failing to reach out to the deconfliction line.
The United States has about 900 troops in Syria as part of the ongoing campaign to defeat ISIS.
Earlier in March, a Russian SU-27 fighter jet collided with an American MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace over the Black Sea, damaging the drone’s propeller, forcing it to fall in water.
“This is worrying because it increases the risk of miscalculation, and given incidents like the interception of MQ-9 and the subsequent crash over the Black Sea, this is not not the kind of behavior I would expect from a professional air force,” the lieutenant general said. Alexus Grynkewich, the commander of US Air Force Central Command, said in a statement earlier this month.
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