US Air Force Says Russian Aircraft Flares Severely Damaged US Reaper Drone In Syria

Flares from a Russian fighter jet struck a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that was on an anti-terrorist mission in Syria, "severely damaging" its propeller, the US Air Force said on Tuesday.

The Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria has consistently said it is concerned about the US-led coalition's systemic violations of deconfliction protocols during UAV flights over northern Syria. The Russian military warns it is not responsible for the safety of uncoordinated UAV flights. On Monday, Russia said that drones of the US-led coalition breached the deconfliction protocols 15 times over the past day.

"On 23 July, 2023 at 12:23 a.m. (EST) (4:23 GMT) Russian fighter aircraft flew dangerously close to a U.S. MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission (Islamic State terror group, banned in Russia), harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead, with only a few meters of separation between aircraft," the Air Force said in a press release. "One of the Russian flares struck the U.S. MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller."

The US crew was able to keep the drone in flight and bring it back to its home base, the release added.

The US Air Force Central Command called on Russian forces to stop their "reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behavior."