US-Led Coalition UAV Comes Into Close Encounter With Russian Jet In Syria - Moscow

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2023) An MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle of the US-led coalition in Syria came into close encounter with a Su-34 aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces in the Syrian province of Raqqah, Rear Adm. Oleg Gurinov, the deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said on Friday.

"On July 28 at 07:55 (local time, 04:55 GMT) at an altitude of 5000 meters (16,400 feet)... in the province of Raqqah, a close encounter of the unmanned aerial vehicle MQ-9 of the US-led coalition with the Su-34 aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces was once again registered. The flight of the coalition's unmanned aerial vehicle in this area was not deconflicted again.

The Russian pilots, demonstrating high professionalism, took the necessary measures in a timely manner to prevent a collision with the coalition's UAV," Gurinov told a briefing.

Russia is concerned with the provocative actions of the US-led coalition toward the drones of Russian aerospace forces in Syria.

Drones of the 'international anti-terrorist coalition' led by the United States violated deconfliction protocols 12 times in the past day, and eight violations of Syrian airspace were recorded by two pairs of F-16 fighters, one pair of Typhoon fighters and one pair of MC-12W reconnaissance aircraft, the official concluded.