According to the Pentagon, Russian military planes harassed US drones involved in operations against the Islamic State group in Syria on Thursday. Second such incident in less than 24 hours.
“(Russian) military aircraft demonstrated dangerous and unprofessional behavior,” US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich said in a statement.
The Russian planes “deployed decoys in front of the drones and flew dangerously close, endangering the safety of all aircraft involved,” the general claimed.
The day before, according to General Grynkewich, Russian warplanes had also deployed decoys in front of American MQ-9 drones, while a Russian pilot had activated his plane’s afterburner in front of one of the drones.
Earlier this year, the United States claimed that a Russian fighter jet struck the engine of a drone operating over the Black Sea and brought it down. Moscow had denied any responsibility.