Commentary
Increasingly aggressive harassment by Russian pilots of U.S. drones operating in Syrian airspace suggests that the recent deployment of F-22s to protect America’s Syrian operations has failed to intimidate Russia.
Indeed, in the weeks since the two F-22s arrived on the scene, Russian pilots have become increasingly aggressive in harassing American MQ-9 Reaper drones. July 5, 6, and 7 saw three separate incidents of aggressive harassment of American MQ-9 drones. And while no drones have been destroyed to date in Syrian airspace, a Russian pilot flying a SU-35 engaged its afterburner while directly in front of an MQ-9 drone, damaging it, but not destroying it….