While the US and Russia are both largely focused on fighting ISIS in Syria, they still get tangled up in a lot of side arguments. This week, it happened when Russian Tu-22 bombers entered Syrian airspace.
The US says Russia’s bombers didn’t give them advanced notice, so US fighters were dispatch to escort them away. The bombers reportedly ended up in Latakia.
The area is seldom used, with Russia not crossing the area since last May. US tensions with Russia would allow making a big deal over what was realistically minor.
The airspace was technically US coalition managed, and the US isn’t going to not fuss over Russia doing something. Either way the encounter was non-threatening.
The US and Russian forces are meant to communicate closely on potential interactions. With the US less and less involved in Syria, this likely seems like red tape for the Russians.
Russia sending a signal to the US that it’s not happy about the ISIS groups hanging around Al Tanf. Those bombers and Migs with hypersonic missiles could obliterate not only the US presence in Syria, but the US navy’s presence in the Med.
Russia concerned over terrorist threat coming from US-controlled Syrian territories
https://tass.com/world/1403963
Al Tanf is in Southern Syria. This incident occurred in North East Syria and concluded when the Russia aircraft landed at Latakia, in North West Syria.
Yes, but those aircraft can do damage anywhere in Syria – and for that matter, most of the Med. The fact that they are there at all is a signal to the US.
Signal of what???? We are there WITHOUT invitation by the Syrian government. We have bases and aircraft all over the world. So what if Russia lands its aircraft in Syria. Geez.
You’re missing the point which is that Russia is responding to the failure of the US to engage Russia on its core security concerns with the “military-technical means” Russia has previously referred to. This is an example.
Russia has the capability in Syria while those planes are there to sink the entire US Med fleet. As Andrei Martyanov says today:
“Each of them is capable of carrying 3 X-32 Mach=4.3 missiles. Together with MiG-31Ks armed with hypersonic Kinzhal, this is precisely the salvo required to destroy any surface force, namely CBG. Most likely scenario being Kinzhals removing AEGIS-equipped escorts, with X-32s finishing off the rest of the formation. This is all fitting well with Russia’s response being prepared in terms of “military-technical means” to West’s failure to react properly to Russia’s ultimatum and the number of threats, I think, sadly, to the US military assets and the US proper will grow now really dramatically once the Olympics are closed. I told ya, get a pop-corn and buckle up.”
Not to the US, to all of NATO. And that signal is: “If you decide to pick a fight, don’t mistakenly assume that you also get to decide the size of the ring.”
Yup.
The only ones who don’t seem to have a say of who can enter Syrian airspace is Syria.
Could be these areal occurrences are Russia and US probings, testing response times, all related to the showdown in Europe.
It’s Syria. Nowhere near Europe.
“US Escorts Russian Bombers From East Syria Coalition Airspace”
“While the US and Russia are both largely focused on fighting ISIS in Syria…”
“The airspace was technically US coalition managed…” Seriously? Who gave Syria’s airspace to the US coalition to manage? Russia is largely fighting ISIS and Al Qaeda. Is the US largely fighting ISIS or Syria?
This article reads as if it came from NYT or WAPO–not from antiwar.
Who gives a sh*t what our guys say. Russia is there because they were INVITED there by Syria. We are not invited.
Agreed.
Under what authority is the US controlling Syrian Air Space? There is no invitation to do that, nor has the UN or another World forum issued such a mandate. The US has actually downed Syrian aircraft in their own airspace with no declaration of war and only a spurious claim to be defending anything. In that case a dam, which was subsequently bombed by US aircraft.