Russian Defense Ministry Reports “Incident” With US F-22 Above Syria
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Dec 9, 2017
A Russian interceptor was scrambled to stop a “rogue” US fighter jet from actively interfering with an anti-terrorist operation, the Russian Defense Ministry said, describing the latest close encounter between the US and Russian air force. It also accused the US of provoking close encounters with Russian jets in Syria.
According to Russia Today, a US F-22 fighter was preventing two Russian Su-25 strike aircraft from bombing an ISIS base to the west of the Euphrates river on Nov. 23, according to the ministry. The ministry’s spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov described the episode as yet another example of the US air force attempting to prevent Russian forces from carrying out strikes against Islamic State.
“An American F-22 fighter actively prevented the Russian pair of Su-25 attack aircraft from carrying out a combat mission to destroy the Daesh stronghold in the suburbs of the city of Mayadin in the airspace over the western bank of the Euphrates River on November 23. The F-22 aircraft fired off heat flares and released brake shields with permanent maneuvering, imitating an air battle,” Konashenkov said on Saturday.
“The F-22 launched decoy flares and used airbrakes while constantly maneuvering [near the Russian strike jets], imitating an air fight,” Konashenkov added that the US jet backed down only after a Russian Su-35S fighter jet joined the two Su-25s.
The major general went on to say that “most close-midair encounters between Russian and US jets in the area around the Euphrates River have been linked to the attempts of US aircraft to get in the way [of the Russian warplanes] striking against Islamic State terrorists.”
The statement came as a response to the Pentagon’s claims about “an increase in unsafe behavior” by Russian warplanes. “We saw anywhere from six to eight incidents daily in late November, where Russian or Syrian aircraft crossed into our airspace on the east side of the Euphrates River,” Lt. Col. Damien, the spokesman for US Air Force Central Command, told CNN earlier on Saturday.
The Rest…HERE
