U.S. Drones Continue To Harass Russian Warplanes Over Syria (Video)

For the third time in less than a week, an MQ-9 Reaper combat drone of the United States-led coalition flew dangerously close to a fighter jet of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria’s airspace, according to the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria.

In a briefing, Major General Yury Popov said that the dangerous encounter took place over the central governorate of Homs.

From 11:35 a.m. to 11:46 a.m. local time on June 28, a coalition’s MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance combat unmanned aerial vehicle dangerously approached a Russian Su-35 plane making a planned flight over Syria at an altitude of from 7,000 to 8,000 meters,” the military official said, adding that the Russian pilot demonstrated high professionalism and took timely measures to prevent a collision.

Video footage of the encounter surfaced online on the same day. In the footage, the U.S.-led coalition drones appear to be armed and equipped with intelligence gathering systems.