(Headline USA) American Reaper drones were harassed by Russian military jets over the western part of Syria for the third consecutive day, according to the Defense Department.
Three Reapers had been flying over Syria on Friday, a U.S. defense official said, when they were harassed for about two hours by Russian aircraft.
Friday was the third day in a row that U.S. officials complained that Russian fighter jets in the region had conducted unsafe and harassing flights around American drones.
Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement that during the Friday encounter, the Russian planes “flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.”
The first friction occurred Wednesday morning when Russian military aircraft “engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior” as three American MQ-9 drones were conducting a mission against IS, the U.S. military said.
On Thursday, the U.S. military said Russian fighter aircraft flew “incredibly unsafe and unprofessionally” against both French and U.S. aircraft over Syria.
Col. Michael Andrews, Air Forces Central Command spokesman, said the Thursday incident lasted almost an hour and included close fly-bys, by one SU-34 and one SU-35 and that they deployed flares directly into the MQ-9.
U.S. officials said the drones were unarmed in the earlier flights, but were carrying weapons on Friday, as they were hunting an Islamic State leader.
Rear Adm. Oleg Gurinov said that Moscow was concerned about the flights of drones by the U.S.-led coalition over northern Syria, calling them “systematic violations of protocols” designed to avoid clashes between the two militaries.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
