Russian Jets Have Been ‘Shadowing’ US Predator Drones over Syria

Since the beginning of Russia’s air campaign over Syria, Russian jets have interrupted American drone flights on three separate occasions. According US officials, the fighter jets have been making their presence known by ‘shadowing’ the drones. All three instances occurred over ISIS territory, which includes the city of Raqqa, Allepo, and by the Syrian border with Turkey near Kobani. As one official put it when speaking with reporters, “The first time it happened, we thought the Russians got lucky. Then it happened two more times.”

In addition to this, there has been at least one instance where a Russian fighter jet came so close to a US aircraft, that it had to change its course. According to Navy Captain Jeff Davis “We have taken action to maintain safe separation” before adding that the aircraft had to change its flight path, though he didn’t reveal what kind of plane was involved in the incident.

According to Lt. Gen. Charles Brown, commander of the American air campaign over Syria, the Russians are trying to maintain a safe distance with manned aircraft, and have never come closer than 20 miles. But when it comes to unmanned aircraft, they’re not shy about flying “within a handful of miles of our remotely piloted aircraft.” While these distances may sound vast to most people, in modern air warfare this is as close as it gets. The possibility that Russian and American planes may have an altercation or an accident (or perhaps a convenient false flag) has never been higher.