American fighter jet avoids collision with ‘unsafe’ Iranian drone
US Navy says plane forced to maneuver while preparing to land after UAV comes only 100 feet from crossing its flight path
WASHINGTON — An Iranian drone flew within 100 feet (30 meters) of a US fighter jet Tuesday as the American plane was trying to land on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, the US Navy said.
The encounter unfolded in international air space as the F/A-18E Super Hornet was preparing to land on the USS Nimitz, US Naval Forces Central Command spokesman Commander Bill Urban said.
He said that despite repeated radio calls to stay clear of flight operations near the Nimitz, the Iranian drone executed “unsafe and unprofessional” altitude changes near the F/A 18.
The US jet had to maneuver to avoid collision, with the drone passing just 100 feet away at its closest point.
“The dangerous maneuver by the QOM-1 in the known vicinity of fixed-wing flight operations and at coincident altitude with operating aircraft created a collision hazard and is not in keeping with international maritime customs and laws,” Urban said.
He added this was the 13th “unsafe and/or unprofessional” interaction between US and Iranian maritime forces this year.
In July, a US Navy patrol ship fired warning shots at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps boat in the Gulf as it closed in on the American vessel.
That incident occurred after a number of other close encounters between US ships and Iranian vessels in the Gulf in recent months.
In January, the USS Mahan destroyer fired warning shots at four Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels that approached at high speed in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects it to the Indian Ocean.
The Revolutionary Guards are a paramilitary force that answers directly to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The force’s boats periodically approach US warships in international waters and the Strait of Hormuz, ignoring US radio messages and giving little indication of their intentions.
In January 2016, the Iranians briefly captured the crew of two small US patrol boats that strayed into Iranian waters.
The 10 US sailors were released 24 hours later.
The latest incidents come shortly after the US Congress approved new sanctions against Iran.
