US deploys fighter jets to Middle East in response to Russia
Mike Brest
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The U.S. Air Force deployed fighter aircraft to the Middle East in a show of force toward Russia.
The F-22 Raptors deployed from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, from the 94th Fighter Squadron, and the maneuver was “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,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday.
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“Russian forces’ unsafe and unprofessional behavior is not what we expect from a professional air force. Their regular violation of agreed-upon airspace deconfliction measures increases the risk of escalation or miscalculation,” said Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command. “Alongside our partners and allies, we are committed to improving the security and stability in the region.”
The decision is also supposed to demonstrate the military’s ability to move forces to “deliver overwhelming power at a moment’s notice,” the statement continued.
The Raptors will integrate with coalition forces in the region while in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
This move is in response to a series of recent intercepts and “unsafe” maneuvers by Russian pilots toward U.S. aircraft and drones.
In early April, a Russian Su-35 conducted an “unsafe and unprofessional intercept” with a U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon that was operating in coalition airspace over Syria. Two weeks later, another Russian aircraft conducted an unprofessional maneuver near a U.S. aircraft.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted six Russian aircraft operating near Alaska on May 11.
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Back in March, two Russian fighter jets forced an Air Force MQ-9 drone to crash into international waters, and it sank to unrecoverable depths.
Two Russian pilots flew recklessly and dangerously close to the U.S. drone over the Black Sea, dumping fuel on it multiple times, before one of them ultimately flew into the drone’s propeller, U.S. military officials explained in the aftermath. The U.S. military was able to wipe the drone of sensitive intelligence before it crash-landed about 75 miles southwest of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.