American fighter jets have intercepted Russian military aircraft over Syria, the Pentagon has announced, claiming the Russian pilots were flying over a banned area.
The alleged interception took place on Wednesday, when two US Air Force F-22 Raptors were scrambled to chase two Russian Sukhoi Su-25 Grach bombers out of a coalition-controlled area on the east side of the Euphrates River near the town of Bukamal.
Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said the Raptors deployed chaff and flares to warn the Russian airmen while one of the US pilots had to “aggressively maneuver” to avoid a midair collision.
“The F-22s conducted multiple maneuvers to persuade the Su-25s to depart our de-conflicted airspace, including the release of chaff and flares in close proximity to the Russian aircraft and placing multiple calls on the emergency channel to convey to the Russian pilots that they needed to depart the area,” he added.
The Russian pilots eventually…