Russian fighter jets tried to shoot down American MQ-9 UAV in Syria

6 July, 2023 A Russian Su-35 fighter jets tried to shoot down American MQ-9 UAV, July 5, 2023. Russian Su-35 fighter jets have carried out a number of dangerous maneuvers in attempts to shoot down American MQ-9 Reaper UAVs in the sky over Syria. The US Air Force Center reported this.

On July 5, at about 10:40 am, Russian Su-35 aircraft adhered to dangerous and unprofessional behavior while interacting with US aircraft in Syria. While three American MQ-9 drones were on a mission against ISIS targets, three Russian fighter jets began pursuing drones. Contrary to established norms and protocols, Russian aircraft employed several parachute flares in front of drones in an attempt to harm them. American UAVs were forced to conduct evasion maneuvers.

In addition, one Russian pilot positioned his plane in front of the MQ-9 and turned on the afterburner, thereby trying to damage the American aircraft with a heat trace and combustion products. Such behavior of Russian aircraft is an attempt to shoot down American aviation without formally engaging it in a direct combat collision. This might be explained by the reluctance of direct military conflict with the United States.

This is not the first similar case. In March this year, Russian fighter jets shot down an American MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea. The incident of Russians intercepting the American reconnaissance UAV, which led to its loss, occurred on March 14 of this year.

Then two Russian Su-27 fighter jets carried out a dangerous and unprofessional interception of the US MQ-9 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, which operated in international airspace over the Black Sea. A Russian Su-27 dropped fuel in front of an MQ-9 and caught the propeller of his engine.

Due to the damage, the drone could not return to the base, so the decision was made to flood it in international waters.