US official: Russian pilots trying to ‘dogfight’ US jets over Syria
Washington has expressed its alarm at Russia's provocations of its forces in Syria, and considers it part of a recent pattern of more aggressive behavior.
A US official told CNN, "The Russian pilots in Syria are trying to provoke the American fighters, but it seems they don't want to shoot them down."
"It seems that the Russians want to drag us into clashes and an international incident," the official added.
In military aviation, dogfighting is engaging in aerial combat, often at relatively close ranges, according to the network.The US Central Command had said, earlier, that Russian pilots were trying to "violently engage" with US planes over Syria.
According to a spokesman for the US Army's Central Command, Colonel Joe Buccino, this is part of a recent pattern of more aggressive behavior, and he added that such attempts have been repeated recently by Russian pilots. Over the last several years, the US has used a deconfliction line between the two militaries in Syria to avoid unintentional mistakes or encounters that can inadvertently lead to escalation
US officials have reached out to their Russian counterparts over the recent incidents, and the Russians have responded, the official said, but “never in a way that acknowledges the incident.”
The official added that since the beginning of March, the Russian aircraft’s violations of the deconfliction protocols amounted to a total of 85 cases, including flying near coalition bases, failing to reach the deconfliction line, and more, and this also includes 26 cases in which armed Russian aircraft flew over the positions of the United States and the coalition in Syria, and the official continued: "It “It looks to be consistent with a new way of operating."
US pilots have refused to engage in the dogfights and are adhering to the protocols of the deconfliction measures, the official added.
It’s concerning because it increases the risk of miscalculation, and given incidents like the MQ-9 intercept, it’s not the kind of behavior I’d expect out of a professional Air Force,” the commander of US Air Force Central Command, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said in a statement earlier this month.
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