A Russian warplane fired rockets at a US drone in Syria, damaging the drone, the US military said, in the fourth such incident in recent weeks.
“One of the Russian rockets hit the US MQ-9, severely damaging the propeller,” 9th Air Force Middle East commander Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said in a statement.
“We call on the Russian forces in Syria to immediately put an end to this reckless, unprovoked and unprofessional behavior,” he was quoted as saying by the US agency AP.
Grynkewich added that one of the crew members operating the drone remotely kept the craft airborne and managed to fly it back to base.
The incident, which took place on Sunday, is the latest in a series of “encounters” between Russian warplanes and US planes over Syria.
In all but one case a week ago, the US planes were unmanned MQ-9 drones.
The exception occurred on July 16, when a Russian Su-35 fighter jet approached a US MC-12 surveillance plane with a crew conducting operations in support of the international mission against the Islamic State “jihadist” group.
The US military said at the time that the Russian plane’s maneuver had endangered the crew of the MC-12.
In early July, Washington stated that Russian jets had pressed US MQ-9 drones over Syria twice in the space of 24 hours.
In March, the United States denounced that a Russian combat plane had damaged the propeller of a ‘drone’ that operated over the Black Sea, causing its accident. Moscow has denied any responsibility.
Source: TSF
