A Russian fighter jet flew very close to a US surveillance aircraft over Syria, forcing it to go through the turbulent wake and endangering the lives of the four American crew members, US officials said on Monday.
The officials said the incident, which happened just before noon EDT on Sunday, was a significant escalation in what has been a string of encounters between US and Russian aircraft in Syria in recent weeks. The intercept by the Russian Su-35 impeded the US crew’s ability to safely operate their MC-12 aircraft, the officials said, calling it a new level of unsafe behaviour that could result in an accident or loss of life.
In recent weeks, Russian fighter jets have repeatedly harassed US unmanned MQ-9 drones, but the latest incident raised alarms because it endangered American lives.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of a military operation, would not say how close the Russian jet got to the US warplane. The MC-12, which is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft routinely used by special operations forces, was doing surveillance in support of operations against the Islamic State groups in Syria, the officials said.
On multiple occasions in the past two weeks, Russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to MQ-9 Reapers, setting off flares and forcing the drones to take evasive maneuvers. US and Russian military officers communicate frequently over a deconfliction phone line during the encounters, protesting the other side’s actions.
The US is considering numerous of military options to address the increasing Russian aggression in the skies over Syria, which complicated efforts to strike an Islamic State group leader earlier this month, according to a senior defense official. The US was eventually able to launch a strike and kill the militant.
