US Central Command reported on Wednesday that the Air Force has sent F-22 fighter fighters to the Middle East because to dangerous Russian aircraft activity.
According to a press statement from CENTCOM, which also covers parts of South and Central Asia, the stealth jets will join existing American and allied air and ground forces in the region. They will be deployed from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
F-22 Fighter Jets Deployed to Middle East Amid Unsafe Russian Aircraft Activity
Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, said in the announcement that Russian Forces hazardous and unprofessional actions is not what we expect from a professional air force.
The potential of escalation or error increases as a result of their repeated violations of agreed-upon airspace deconfliction mechanisms.
Relations between the US and Russia have remained tight as the war in Ukraine goes on.
Russians behavior in the Middle East has been rising since several months, according to American military officials.
Nearly every day in March, armed Russians jets flew over a US military installation in Syria, an army commander told NBC News at the time.
According to a lieutenant general, Russian pilots appeared to be urging American jets to engage in dogfighting in Syria in April, according to Defense One.
The Challenge of Deconfliction in Syria
In order to protect the Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus, Russia keeps more than 2,500 personnel there, and it has long called for US removal.
There are still about 900 US soldiers in Syria, mostly in the northeast, where they continue to conduct raids in conjunction with local forces to expel the remaining members of the Islamic State group.
Deconfliction agreements between the US and Russian parties have previously failed.
In the eastern Deir Ezzor region in 2018, Russian Wagner mercenaries enmeshed with Syrian pro-regime forces attacked a US position close to the Conoco gas field.
At the time, James Mattis, the defense secretary, said the event was unprovoked.
He then personally approved a US military quick reaction team to demolish the invading columns, killing up to 300 Russia mercenaries, according to accounts.
Since then, Pentagon officials have actively worked to avoid similar deadly confrontations with the Russians in Syria because they believe that unfriendly encounters jeopardize attempts to limit IS.
Early last year, around the time that Russia invaded Ukraine, American military officers first saw a trend in the close calls with Russian pilots in Syria, a defense official claimed.
