A Russian surveillance aircraft flew above a US base in Syria for an “extended period of time” on Friday morning in what officials deemed an intelligence collecting mission, a senior defense official said.
The aircraft, an Antonov An-30, flew over the At-Tanf garrison, the official said, flying back and forth several times over the base and the surrounding area.No US assets were able to intercept Russia’s manned surveillance aircraft in time because of where US aircraft were positioned at the time. The official said that the US has daily flight patterns determined by how many fighters are available, and tankers to refuel the fighters, as well as activity in Syria and Iraq and where they’re needed.
“You can never cover everywhere it is you want to cover all at once, so we intentionally pattern that activity a little bit differently every day so that we’re not predictable … This just happened to be one of the periods where we had a small gap in our coverage over Al-Tanf garrison, nothing that could respond rapidly enough to get in position and intercept,” the official said, adding that they did not believe Russia knew US aircraft would be unable to respond.
“We’re supposed to stay about three nautical miles away from each other’s aircraft all the time, and they were well inside of that,” the official said. “So I judge that as unprofessional because they’re not following the established rules that we have for aviation operations. But it was not reckless, like some of the previous intercepts.”The US speaks regularly with Russia over the deconfliction line related to military operations in Syria.
There has, though, been a “qualitative difference” in Russian military flights in Syria and how they interact with US aircraft, the official said. The difference may be an indication of growing Iranian influence in the relationship with the Kremlin and a desire to remove American forces from Syria. The growing stability of the Syrian regime may also contribute to the willingness to interact with American aircraft.
“So a tactical aircrew, you know, when you see your brothers and sisters get a medal, you go ‘Oh well if I do that, maybe I’ll get a medal, too.’ So there’s a lot of things that kind of compound based on that situation,” the official said.
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