Russian Fighter Jet Buzzes Within 5 Feet Of U.S. Recon Flight

The Russian buzzing of the reconnaissance flight yesterday came one day after the Russian Defense Ministry warned that any U.S. jet flying west of the Euphrates River in Syria could be a potential target.

The warning came in response to the United States shooting down a Syrian fighter jet that was targeting U.S. aligned rebel fighters.

Both Russia and Syria said the Syrian jet was attacking ISIS fighters.

Since June 2 there have been more than 35 interactions in the Baltic Sea region between U.S. and Russian jets and warships, but the incident Monday morning is notable because the U.S. military considered it “unsafe,” according to one official.”

The growing tensions over Syria certainly make the Democrat contentions of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign look even more ridiculous and lame.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump clearly have divergent views on Syria and how best to end the civil war there. In addition, Iran has provided support to the Assad regime.

In a late-breaking development earlier today, an armed Iranian drone advancing on coalition forces in southern Syria was shot down by U.S. aircraft, Fox News confirmed.

The armed pro-regime Shaheed-129 UAV was shot down by a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle about 12:30 a.m. after it displayed hostile intent and advanced on Coalition forces. This is the second time the U.S. shot down an Iranian drone in less than a month.”

Russia has backed the regime of Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad for decades and deployed fighter jets and helicopter gunships to Syria in September 2015 to help Assad regain control of his country from radical Islamist rebels.

Last February, while the U.S. Army was unloading dozens of tanks and 500 soldiers in nearby Romania, Russian jets buzzed a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer in the Black Sea.

Two months later, that ship, the USS Porter, launched a cruise missile strike on a Syrian airbase in retaliation for the Assad regime’s chemical attack on civilians.

Over the past weeks, the U.S. military has participated with allies in a large military training exercise in the Baltic region.

Dozens of U.S. and allied warships also participated in the Baltic Sea exercise amid heightened tensions with Russia. The “Baltops” exercise concluded over the weekend.”

It’s not exactly clear how close the reconnaissance plane may have been flying near Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania.

This fall, Russia moved nuclear-capable ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad, putting some European capitals in strike range.”

UPDATE: The Pentagon says that the US will defend themselves against aggression:

U.S. pilots over Syria will defend themselves if attacked by Russians, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, following a report that Russia will treat U.S. or coalition aircraft as targets if they fly over areas in western Syria controlled by Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry made the threat Monday after a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Su-22 after that plane bombed U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces that are working with the U.S. to defeat the Islamic State on Sunday.

“Any aircraft, including planes and drones of the international coalition, detected in the operation areas west of the Euphrates River by the Russian air forces will be followed by Russian ground-based air defense and air defense aircraft as air targets,” the Defense Ministry said.

Source: Fox News, Washington Examiner