The US military releases declassified video of fully armed Russian fighter jets intercepting US aircraft over Syria on two separate occasions
- One of the videos was recorded on Tuesday and shows high-resolution images
- The two interceptions are part of a larger trend of the Russian-American air conflict
- Central Command has warned that the war in Ukraine could spill over into Syria
The US Central Command on Wednesday released videos of Russian fighter jets intercepting US jets over Syria on two separate occasions as tensions between the two nations continue to escalate.
The videos show high-quality infrared images of a Russian Su-35 intercepting a US craft, just a month after General Michael ‘Erik’ Kurilla, head of central command, said he had seen a spike in aggressive Russian activity.
“We’ve seen a significant spike in Syria since about March 1,” General Kurilla told the Senate Armed Forces Committee on March 16.
Kurilla has also previously warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could spill over into Syria, where Moscow could try to act as a ‘spoiler’.
Kurilla’s comments followed US claims that Russia’s interception of a US drone over the Black Sea last month was part of a pattern of more aggressive behavior by the Russian military.
The US Central Command on Wednesday released videos of Russian fighter jets intercepting US jets over Syria on two separate occasions as tensions between the two nations continue to escalate
US Air Force Central says armed Russian aircraft flew directly over coalition-held areas in Syria 26 times between March 1 and April 19 this year.
AFCENT said the video was taken by a US fighter jet on Tuesday and is similar to past videos taken by advanced aiming pods used by US tactical fighter jets, AFCENT said. The ride.
The video’s caption calls it “released footage of a Russian Su-35 violating Coalition Force airspace in Syria.”
The video shows the Russian pilot going within 600 meters of the US plane, defying longstanding protocols.
It was not made clear what the specific nature of the violation of those protocols was, although the US and Russia have long-established conflict resolution agreements in Syria, but US officials have admitted that they are frequently violated.
A second lower quality video was recorded on April 2 showing “a Russian Su-35 conducted an unsafe and unprofessional interception with a US F-16 aircraft.”
Both videos claim that they violated US coalition-controlled airspace over Syria.
“The Russian Su-35 had not yet de-conflicted when it entered the airspace. This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with US and coalition aircraft.”
The videos show high-quality infrared images of a Russian Su-35 intercepting a US vessel
General Michael ‘Erik’ Kurilla, head of Central Command, said he has seen a spike in aggressive Russian activity
The video shows the Russian pilot going within 2,000 feet of the US plane, defying longstanding protocols
“Demonstrate these aggressive actions of Russian aircrew [a] lack of competence and can lead to miscalculation and unintentional escalation,” AFCENT said in a statement.
Those 26 violations are nearly half of a total of 63 violations since the protocols between the US and Russia went into effect in 2019.
“In the course of my career, I have not seen this kind of disregard for agreed protocols and conflict resolution rules,” AFCENT Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich said in a statement. “We’ve seen Russian planes come within 500 feet of our plane.”
Kurilla said any move in Ukraine could lead to steps in Syria – where Russia has supported President Bashar al-Assad and thwarted the spread of democracy.
“I believe that if Russia invades Ukraine, they would not hesitate to act as a spoiler in Syria as well,” he said before referring to Russia’s electronic warfare activities.
“We already see it as one of the most contentious electromagnetic spectrum environments in which we currently operate.”