Before the war in Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom had many occasions to denounce the “unprofessional” behavior of Russian fighter planes and ships towards their armed forces…while France was more discreet on the subject due to the “dangerous” interactions it became at most frequently mentioned in the parliamentary hearings of the concerned chiefs of staff.
So in 2018, when he was Chief of Staff of the French Navy [CEMM]Admiral Christophe Prazuck revealed to MPs that Russian warplanes had overflown French ships at least eight times in the past few months.
Given the context at the time, notably the Russian military operation in Syria and the intervention of French forces in the Levant against the Islamic State, this was not really surprising. [EI ou Daesh]as part of the international coalition led by the United States [Inherent Resolve] and under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Earlier, and before the same MPs, General André Lanata, then Chief of Staff of the Air Force, had stated that the coalition planes “moved daily in a handkerchief close to the Russian and Syrian Sukhoi MiGs, all this in the center of the ground-to-air.” -Defense Systems of the Russian and Syrian Armed Forces”. However, he did not mention specific incidents [du moins selon le compte-rendu de son audition à huis clos]unlike its American counterparts… And this while the Russian and Inherent Resolve top management had agreed on so-called “deconfliction” rules to avoid misunderstandings.
“While contact with the Americans and British is difficult […], [les Russes] remain very professional towards the French sailors. This respect has very practical consequences. In September 2018, the Auvergne frigate was accused of shooting down a Russian plane. Thanks to this respect, this trust and the direct channels of discussion, the truth has been restored and France exonerated,” said MEP Michel-Kleisbauer, co-author of a report on defense issues in the Mediterranean in February 2022.
However, with the war in Ukraine, the “climate” has changed. In July 2022, while still at a parliamentary hearing, the current CEMM, Admiral Pierre Vandier, revealed that the Russians were now regularly “less than 2000 meters” from French ships with “their active weapon systems, as they regularly tell us through reconnaissance “. our buildings with their fire control radars”. However, this did not give rise to an official statement from the French authorities …
And in November 2022, it was NATO that publicly denounced the dangerous overflight of the air defense frigate Chevalier Paul by Russian planes in the Baltic Sea… and not Paris.
However, the approach of the French authorities to the behavior of the Russian armed forces will undoubtedly change in the future. At least that is what the statement by the General Staff of the Wehrmacht suggests. [EMA] who on July 6 denounced the behavior of a Su-35 “Flanker-E” towards the Air & Space Force Rafale [AAE] involved in Operation Chammal [nom de la participation française à Inherent Resolve, ndlr].
“On 06.07. Two French Rafales on a protection mission on the Iraqi-Syrian border responded to an unprofessional interaction by a Russian Su-35,” EMA actually confirmed via Twitter.
And to back up his point, he posted a photo of the Russian fighter jet in question… suggesting he was closing in [trop] near the two Rafales.
The Federal Ministry of Defense has not commented for the time being.
#chammal | On 06.07. 2 Rafale 🇫🇷 reacted to a non-professional intervention of a SU-35 🇷🇺 during a protection operation at the Iraqi-Syrian border.
The pilots 🇫🇷 maneuvered to control the risk of accidents before continuing their patrol. pic.twitter.com/jJPvKMutUl
– French Army – Military Operations (@EtatMajorFR) July 6, 2023
It should be noted that during the operation of four Rafales of the 30th Fighter Squadron in Lithuania between December 2022 and May 2023, no incident of this type was reported … while the French planes made about fifteen launches in true alert [Alpha Scramble] of the Combined Air Operations Center [CAOC] intercept and identify more than 25 Russian aircraft.
In any case, this incident in the Levant happened barely twenty-four hours after three Russian Su-35s “harassed” three MALE drones [Moyenne Altitude Longue Endurance] American MQ-9 Reapers, which were then deployed in Syria against Daesh.