Yesterday, three Russian fighter jets harassed U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones in Syria’s airspace. According to the commander of the Ninth Air Force and the Combined Forces Air Component for U.S. Central Command Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the American hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were conducting a mission targeting Islamic State assets in Syria when the provocation began.
The U.S. Air Forces Central published footage of the encounter, which showed a Russian Su-35 fighter flying dangerously close to a Reaper. MQ-9 drones are used by the U.S. military for surveillance and are not armed with weapons.
Grynkewich noted that “Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior while interacting with U.S. aircraft in Syria,” adding that the actions threaten the safety of the U.S. and Russian forces. “We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS.”
Russian pilots are becoming more belligerent over Syria
Since the onset of Russia’s Ukraine invasion back in February 2022, Russian pilots have engaged in increasingly aggressive actions against U.S. personnel in Syria. While contentious incidents between the two countries over the war-torn country have persisted for years, recent escalations indicate the Kremlin may be carrying out additional provocations in light of the aid and support Washington is continuing to provide Kyiv.
In March, another American Reaper drone was forced into the Black Sea when a pair of Russian Su-27 fighters tracked and targeted the surveillance drone in international airspace over the water. Incidents like these have resulted in the redeployment of F-22 Raptor fighter jets to the Middle East region. The U.S. had more recently begun moving its formidable fifth-generation fighter fleets from the MENA region to the Pacific and Europe, making the redeployment more significant.
Last month, airmen from the 94thFighter Squadron at Joint Base Langely-Eustis, Virginia arrived in U.S. Central Command. The “unprofessionalism” and “buffoonery” of Russian pilots in Syria and over the Black Sea made these string of deployments to CENTCOM necessary. As the world’s first-ever fifth-generation fighter, the F-22 is notoriously stealthy, sophisticated, and robust. The fact that the U.S. has sent Raptor jets to Syria suggests that American officials are concerned with Russia’s increasingly belligerent behavior.
F-22 Specs and capabilities
Widely touted as the best fighter jet ever to fly the skies, the F-22 is undoubtedly superior to its Russian counterparts. The Raptor’s supermaneuverable flight characteristics, including a small radar cross-section and twin thrust-vectoring F119 turbofan engines, enable the jet to fly undetected and give it the ability to outclass other fighters in a dogfight. As detailed by the Air Force, “The F-22 possesses a sophisticated sensor suite allowing the pilot to track, identify, shoot and kill air-to-air threats before being detected. Significant advances in cockpit design and sensor fusion improve the pilot’s situational awareness. In the air-to-air configuration the Raptor carries six AIM-120 AMRAAMs and two AIM-9 Sidewinders.”
Russian pilots should take the hint that incoming F-22 Raptors are en route and ready to protect American drones over international waters.
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
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