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US F-22 aircraft intercept Russian jets, fire flares at them over Syria

Iran Press TV

Thu Dec 14, 2017 10:32PM

American fighter jets have intercepted Russian military aircraft over Syria, the Pentagon has announced, claiming the Russian pilots were flying over a banned area.

The alleged interception took place on Wednesday, when two US Air Force F-22 Raptors were scrambled to chase two Russian Sukhoi Su-25 Grach bombers out of a coalition-controlled area on the east side of the Euphrates River near the town of Bukamal.

Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said the Raptors deployed chaff and flares to warn the Russian airmen while one of the US pilots had to "aggressively maneuver" to avoid a midair collision.

"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 added.

The Russian pilots eventually changed course to the western side of the river after about 40 minutes.

Pahon said US commanders had to contact their Russian counterparts over a special hotline in order to calm the situation and avert a "strategic miscalculation."

Lt. Col. Damien Pickart, a USAF Central Command spokesman, told CNN that an advanced Russian Su-35 "also flew across the river and was shadowed closely by one of the F-22As" during the confrontation.

The Pentagon announced in early November that American and Russian officials had verbally agreed that the US-led coalition controls the airspace over the river's east while Russian forces fly to its west.

Pahon accused Russia of undermining the "de-confliction arrangement" by crossing to the east six to eight times a day.

"It's become increasingly tough for our pilots to discern whether Russian pilots' actions are deliberate or if these are just honest mistakes," Pahon said.

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in early November to continue to support de-confliction efforts after meeting on the sidelines of the APEC conference in Vietnam.