US deploys F-22 Raptors to protect occupation bases in Syria
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The decision comes in response to several incidents where Russian jets conducted flights over the US occupation bases and troops in the northeast of the country.
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A US soldier stands by a Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) during a patrol in the countryside near Al-Malikiyah (Derik) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, Feb. 2, 2021 (AFP)
The United States announced the deployment of F-22 Raptor fighter jets to the Middle East as tensions with Moscow rise in Syria, following several incidents of Russian jets hovering over US occupation bases in the country.
The deployment comes in response to “increasingly unsafe and unprofessional behavior by Russian aircraft in the region,” US Central Command CENTCOM said on Wednesday in a Twitter post.
U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors deployed to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility as part of a multifaceted show of U.S. support and capability in the wake of increasingly unsafe and unprofessional behavior by Russian aircraft in the region. #AirPower @USAFCENT https://t.co/WVDwU8xtjd pic.twitter.com/ieOgRCfopc
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 14, 2023
“Their regular violation of agreed upon airspace deconfliction measures increases the risk of escalation or miscalculation," Cheif of CENTCOM General Michael Kurilla said in the statement.
Moscow said earlier that jets of the US-led coalition have recently been activating their arms systems on Russian aircraft over Syria
Russia denounced the measures, adding that the United States continues to breach deconfliction protocols with Russia and the air safety agreement in Syria.
Meanwhile, the head of US Air Forces Central, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, claimed in an interview for Stars and Stripes that Russian pilots are "not operating like a professional air force anymore."
Some Russian jets were equipped with air-to-ground weapons during flights over US occupation bases, and these weapons had sensors that are most likely used to conduct surveillance on US sites, Grynkewich added.
Damascus has officially requested Russia's assistance to fight Western-backed terrorist groups that were transferred into the country in 2012 to overthrow the democratically-elected Syrian government, while the United States has illegally set up military bases in northeastern Syria under the guise of fighting ISIS while looting the country's resources on an almost daily basis, including oil and wheat.
Read more: US occupation forces in Syria loot Syrian oil again
“Our Number 1 objective is of course to protect our troops, but close behind it is to avoid escalation,” Grynkewich claimed.
In May, US Air Forces Central said de-escalation protocols between Russia and the United States include agreements that both countries would notify each other before launching a flight, an agreed-upon safe flight distance between planes and ground forces, as well as an agreement that jets would not conduct flights over troops while equipped with arms.
Grynkewich accused Russia last week of not being receptive to US complaints recently.
“They're not reciprocating as they used to, so deconfliction doesn't work,” he said.
“Then your next best bet is to make sure that you're in a position to defend yourself.”
