US jets fire warning flares as Russian planes enters Syria buffer zone
US Air Force says Russians infringing on forbidden airspace six to eight times a day, unclear whether by accident or design
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
Two US fighter jets on Wednesday fired warning flares after two Russian jets entered a buffer zone intended to keep Russian and US-led coalition forces operating over Syria apart.
After crossing the so-called “de-confliction line,” the Russian Su-25s “were promptly intercepted by two F-22A Raptors providing air cover for partner ground forces conducting operations to defeat ISIS,” Air Forces Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart told CNN.
“The F-22s conducted multiple maneuvers to persuade the Su-25s to depart our de-conflicted airspace, including the release of chaff and flares in close proximity to the Russian aircraft and placing multiple calls on the emergency channel to convey to the Russian pilots that they needed to depart the area,” he said.
Pickart added that one Su-25 flew close enough to an F-22A that it had to “aggressively maneuver to avoid a midair collision.”
In early November, the US and the Russians agreed that the latter would keep west of the Euphrates River and the former to the east.
“Since agreeing to this de-confliction arrangement, the Russians have flown into our airspace on the east side of the river 6-8 times per day, or approximately 10 percent of the Russian and Syrian flights,” Pickart said.
“If either of us needs to cross the river for any reason, we’re supposed to first de-conflict via the [hot] line. It’s become increasingly tough for our pilots to discern whether Russian pilots’ actions are deliberate or if these are just honest mistakes,” he added, saying, “the coalition’s greatest concern is that we could shoot down a Russian aircraft because its actions are seen as a threat to our air or ground forces.”
Russia has been backing Syrian President Bashar Assad in the ongoing Syrian civil war.
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