US drone damaged by flares from Russian fighter jet over Syria

A U.S. drone was damaged by flares from a Russian fighter jet over Syria on Sunday in the latest in a series of confrontations by Russian aircraft in the region.

The Russian jet flew “dangerously close” to the U.S. MQ-9 drone, harassing it and deploying flares from just a few meters overhead, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said in a Tuesday statement.

One of the Russian flares struck the American drone and severely damaged its propeller, Grynkewich said. However, the drone was able to maintain flight and return to its home base.

“The Russian fighter’s blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” he added. “We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behavior.”

Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh later told reporters that the U.S. has seen an increase in “unsafe, unprofessional behavior” by the Russian military. 

“It’s just yet again another blatant disregard of how to operate and flies in the face of operating safely and professionally, and continues to distract from our mission there, which is to defeat ISIS,” she said. “There’s no excuse for how their forces continue to harass our MQ-9s after years of U.S. operations in the area … we call on the Russians to conduct their ways in accordance with international law.” 

This was the fifth time in the past month that Russian fighter jets have harassed U.S. drones flying over Syria. 

Three Russian jets launched parachute flares at an American drone in early July, forcing the aircraft to conduct “evasive maneuvers.” The incident was quickly followed by two others in the next two days.

Grynkewich said last week that another incident had occurred over the weekend, with a Russian fighter jet once again flying dangerously close to a U.S. surveillance aircraft.

A Russian jet intercepted a U.S. drone over the Black Sea in March, forcing it down and sparking backlash from officials in Washington who decried the move as “unprofessional” and “unsafe.”

Ellen Mitchell contributed.

Updated at 3:12 p.m.