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A US Air Forces Central spokesperson said there has been an increase “over the past several weeks” of unprofessional behavior by Russian aircraft.

• “While the unprofessional and unsafe behavior varies from day to day and pilot to pilot, compared to behavior a year ago, Russian pilots have become significantly more unprofessional and unsafe in their attempts to challenge Coalition enduring defeat-Da’esh operations,” the spokesperson said.
• “Previously, Russian military leadership in Syria had been willing to comply with agreed upon deconfliction protocols,” they added.

The F-22s are "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," according to CENTCOM's press release. 

"The Raptors are demonstrating the U.S.' ability to re-posture forces and deliver overwhelming power at a moment's notice... While in the CENTCOM area, the 94th Fighter Squadron will integrate with coalition forces on the ground and in the air." 

INSIDE LOOK during a F-22 Raptor Mission over CENTCOM

107 views Jun 14, 2023 #airforce #f22 #kc135

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors conduct a mission and receive fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker during flight over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility June 12, 2023. #airforce #f22 #kc135

PRESS RELEASE | June 14, 2023

F-22 Raptors Demonstrate Air Superiority in CENTCOM

USCENTCOM

June 14, 2023

Release Number 20230614-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors deployed to U.S. Central Command'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.

• The Raptors, from Langley Air Force Base, Va.'s 94th Fighter Squadron, are demonstrating the U.S.' ability to re-posture forces and deliver overwhelming power at a moment's notice.
• The F-22's combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and mission systems make it the best fifth-generation fighter in the world.

While in the CENTCOM area, the 94th Fighter Squadron will integrate with coalition forces on the ground and in the air.

"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."

This rapid deployment and integration into coalition operations is a clear demonstration of the commitment shared by partners, allies, and the U.S. to long-term peace and stability in the region.

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Politico

U.S. deploys F-22s to Middle East in response to 'unsafe ...

The Air Force has deployed F-22 fighter jets to the Middle East because of unsafe Russian aircraft activity, U.S. Central Command announced on Wednesday.

1. The War Zone

F-22 Deployment To Middle East Aimed Squarely At Russia In Syria

The Air Force’s top commander in the Middle East says that Iranian support for Russia’s war in Ukraine may be fueling incidents in Syria.

BYJOSEPH TREVITHICK|PUBLISHED JUN 14, 2023 7:40 PM EDT

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U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters recently arrived in the Middle East as part of a broader and explicit show of force in direct response to actions in recent months by elements of the Russia's military in the region. American forces have been experiencing an uptick in unsafe and unprofessional Russian aerial activity in skies over Syria and this may be tied in part to Iranian support for the latter's war effort in Ukraine. That's the view of the Air Force's top commander in the Middle East.

An F-22 after deploying to the Middle East earlier today. USAF

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT), gave an update on the situation in Syria during a virtual talk held today as part of Defense One's Tech Summit. Grynkewich has been increasingly outspoken for months now about this apparent surge in Russian jets flying aggressively in the vicinity of American aircraft and otherwise engaging in malign behavior in Syria.

"I'll tell you, I... think this is driven by a confluence of our adversaries now," Grynkewich said. "So, with Russia being beholden to Iran, with the mighty Russian Air Force having to buy UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles] from Iran, the Russians actually owe the Iranians something."

Russia has been employing multiple types of Iranian-made uncrewed aircraft, especially kamikaze drones, in Ukraine for months now. U.S. officials have said that intelligence indicates that the Russians are working with the Iranians to establish a domestic capability to produce drones of these designs. American officials have said Tehran is now seeking recompense for this support, including in the form of billions of dollars worth of weapon systems like Su-35 Flanker-E fighter jets and other materiel.

A satellite image the U.S. government released earlier this week showing Russia's Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which American officials believe could eventually host domestic production of Iranian-designed drones. U.S. Government

"So that dynamic, I think, has resulted in collusion, if you will, between the Russians and the Iranians, both of whom want to see us out of Syria," according to Grynkewich. "They're [also] colluding with the Syrian regime and trying to push us out of Syria as quick as they can."

In Syria, U.S. forces are deployed on the ground at a number of locations, primarily in support of ongoing coalition operations targeting the terrorist group ISIS. American personnel in the country also operate closely together with local, predominantly ethnic Kurdish groups.

A map of Syria showing the general zones of control of US and US-backed forces, as well as a plethora of actors, including the Russian military, as of October 2022. CRS

Grynkewich also drew attention more directly to the chill in relations between the United States and Russia since the latter country's launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as a more direct cause for what is happening in Syria. As he has done in the past, the AFCENT commander specifically cited an incident in March in which a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter collided with a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea resulting in the latter aircraft crashing. This had come in the course of "reckless" and "unprofessional" intercept that included the Flanker making multiple passes very close to the uncrewed aircraft and dumping fuel on it, as you can read more about here.

Though Russian authorities initially denied the Black Sea incident had occurred at all, the pilot of the Su-27 that hit the MQ-9 and his wingman later received medals for their actions from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

"If you're gonna give medals to Russian fighter pilots for pouring gas on a UAV and then knocking it out of the sky by crashing into it while they're operating over the Black Sea, then the Russian pilots that serve in other parts of the world, such as Syria, see that and that's going to incentivize them," Grynkewich said.

While Grynkewich says that the situation in the skies above Syria has not risen to this level yet, the situation there does appear to have escalated to a new degree recently. Earlier today, before the AFCENT commander spoke at the Defense One event, CENTCOM had separately announced that Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters had touched down at an unspecified air base in the Middle East and directly linked this to the increasing friction with Russian aircraft in the region.

CENTCOM said that the jets had come from the Air Force's 94th Fighter Squadron, which is headquartered at Joint Base Langley–Eustis in Virginia. It's not clear how many total F-22s are part of this deployment. Pictures and videos the command released along with the announcement showed at least two F-22s touching down, as well as flying together with a pair of F-16C Viper fighters armed with live AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), AIM-9X Sidewinders, GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) precision-guided bombs.

CENTCOM did not say where the F-22s will be flying from primarily, but analysis of the imagery released so far by open-source intelligence enthusiasts indicates that the Raptors are now at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. This makes sense as this base is a major U.S. air operations hub in the region, especially for operations in neighboring Syria, and has been expanded in recent years.

Those pictures and videos were also all dated June 12, so the F-22s have been in the region for at least two days now.

The F-22s are "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," according to CENTCOM's press release. "The Raptors are demonstrating the U.S.' ability to re-posture forces and deliver overwhelming power at a moment's notice... While in the CENTCOM area, the 94th Fighter Squadron will integrate with coalition forces on the ground and in the air."

The Raptor remains the most capable fighter jet in U.S. inventory, able to perform air-to-air and air-ground missions in very high-threat environments, and is also an extremely capable "quarterback" when working together with less capable platforms.

CENTCOM has not yet elaborated on any other aspects of this "multifaceted" display of strength.

"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," CENTCOM commander Kurilla said in a statement. "Alongside our partners and allies, we are committed to improving the security and stability in the region."

The U.S. military's use of snap deployments of F-22s and other combat aircraft to signal resolve in the Middle East is hardly new. However, it has historically been in response to geopolitical friction with regional actors, particularly Iran, and has generally not been explicitly framed as being directed at any specific country. In the current context, it's also interesting to note that Raptors were used in the early 2010s to escort U.S. drones flying over the Persian Gulf after a spate of harassment by Iranian combat jets.

A trio of F-22s after their arrival at Al Udied Air Base in Qatar in 2019 amid a surge in geopolitical friction with Iran. USAF

Since March, Lt. Gen. Grynkewich and Gen. Kurilla have both been very publicly drawing attention to an apparent increase in malign Russian activity directed at American forces operating in the skies over Syria and on the ground in that country.

Russian aircraft have been “increasingly bellicose in how they're approaching us,” Lt. Gen. Grynkewich had said in an interview with Defense One back in April. "They're maneuvering aggressively against us when our protocols would say we're supposed to stay… several miles apart and just monitor each other."

“They're aggressively maneuvering, almost like they're trying to dogfight, if you will," Grynkewich added at that time. "That's very concerning."

Also in April, AFCENT released two videos, seen below, that it said were examples of this kind of Russian activity in the skies over Syria and data about its increasing frequency. The command said there had been 63 violations of established deconfliction protocols just between March 1 and April 19, as well as 26 instances where "armed Russian fighter aircraft" flew directly over U.S.-led coalition positions on the ground.

It is important to note that it remains unclear just how dramatic an uptick in malign Russian activity this really is compared to how things have been in the past. There have been protocols in place for years now that have been intended to deconflict U.S.-led and Russian operations in Syria. American officials have accused their Russian counterparts of violating them routinely. In 2017, the Pentagon said that Russian aircraft were zipping across a key deconfliction boundary in then in place between six and eight times daily.

Aggressive Russian intercepts in the skies over Syria and flyovers of sites on the ground where U.S. forces are located are known to have occurred in the past, too. As Grynkewich reiterated today, this kind of activity is hardly limited to the Middle East, either.

In addition, just last year, Russian aircraft conducted actual air strikes on multiple occasions explicitly targeting U.S.-backed local forces in the country.

In September 2022, a Russian Pantsir air defense system fired on a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper flying over Syria in another example of escalation before this apparent latest uptick in friction. The War Zone was the first to get on-the-record confirmation of that incident. The missile the Pantsir fired reportedly detonated within around 40 feet of the drone and damaged it, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

An MQ-9 Reaper like the one that was reportedly damaged by a Russian Pantsir air defense system in Syria last year. USAF

While testifying before members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in March Gen. Kurilla acknowledged that the "unprofessional and unsafe behavior of the Russian air force in the region" is "not new." However, he did stress that "we have seen a significant spike since about 1 March in Syria."

"Just in the last few days, and most recently this morning, the Russians continued to engage in that kind of provocative behavior," Lt. Gen. Grynkewich said during the Defense One-hosted chat today. "We're trying to maintain a de-escalatory posture, we do maintain that de-escalatory posture, but the Russians continue to try to pressure our presence."

How things will continue to evolve now with the arrival of the F-22s as part of a broader CENTCOM show of force remains to be seen.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com

.

4 hours ago

INTL US Rushes F-22s to Stop Russian Harassment Over Syria

•  Thread starterjward 
•  Start dateToday at 5:04 PM

jward

passin' thru

• Today at 5:04 PM

• #1

US Rushes F-22s to Stop Russian Harassment Over Syria​

Audrey Decker​

​

---

As Russian planes continue to provoke U.S. fighter jets over Syria, the Air Force is sending F-22s to respond to aggression in the region.
Russia continues to “pressure our presence,” despite the U.S.’s de-escalatory posture, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who leads Air Forces Central Command, said Wednesday during the annual Defense One Tech Summit.

In April, the general told Defense One that Russian warplanes had tried to bait U.S. jets into “dogfighting” over Syria.
And just last week, Russia tried again to bait U.S. pilots, Grynkewich said.
But Russia can’t push the U.S. out of the airspace in the Middle East, Grynkewich said. He likened the country’s behavior to a gnat flying over your head: “It’s very frustrating and annoying sometimes, but in the end, it doesn't really matter.”
The Air Force announced Wednesday it’s sending F-22s to the Middle East to track Russian aggression and improve “security and stability” in the region, according to the service.

“The Raptors, from Langley Air Force Base, Va.’s 94th Fighter Squadron, deployed to U.S. Central Command following a successful support mission [in] U.S. European Command, demonstrating the U.S.’ ability to re-posture forces and deliver capabilities at a moment’s notice,” the service said in a statement.
In mid-March, a Russian Sukhoi fighter jet collided with an American MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea. Russia’s defense minister awarded medals to the pilots, which Grynkewich said encourages other Russian pilots to fly aggressively.
“For the life of me, I don't know why the Russians give a medal to someone who makes such an egregious mistake and has such a lack of airmanship. It reflects a decline in the professionalization of their air force, in my view, but they've done it,” he said.
The situation in the region is also driven by a “confluence of our adversaries,” now that Russia is buying drones from Iran, Grynkewich said.

“That dynamic, I think, has resulted in collusion, if you will, between the Russians and the Iranians, both of whom want to see us out of Syria. They're colluding with the Syrian regime and trying to push us out of Syria as quickly as they can. And for the life of me, I don't know why they've come off the reason that we're all actually there, which is to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. That's a real threat. That's the real enemy to all of us. And that's what we ought to be focusing on in Syria. But for whatever reason, the Russians and the Iranians and others are coming off of that,” he said.

US Rushes F-22s to Stop Russian Harassment Over Syria

Iran and Russia's efforts to push the U.S. out of the airspace include an aerial incident last week, Air Forces Central commander says.

 www.defenseone.com

jward

passin' thru

• Today at 5:17 PM

• #2

Charles Lister
@Charles_Lister
4h

BREAKING -- @CENTCOM
has deployed F-22 Raptors to the #MiddleEast "in the wake of increasingly unsafe and unprofessional behavior by Russian aircraft in the region."

#Syria is the epicenter here.

jward

passin' thru

• Today at 5:29 PM

• #3

EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
42m

Commander of the US Air Force in the Middle East to Al-Jazeera: Russian aircraft maneuver aggressively, loaded with live ammunition.

Commander of the US Air Force in the Middle East to Al-Jazeera: The Russians are undermining our efforts and refusing to adhere to protocols.

Just a matter of time before something happens between Russia and America in Syria.

• 

 Reactions:Doc1

Hfcomms

EN66iq

• Today at 5:33 PM

• #4

Russia is flying and has forces in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government. Why are we there again??

• 

 Reactions:thompson, y2ksurvivor, ChetekTech and 12 others

doctor_fungcool

TB Fanatic

• Today at 5:43 PM

• #5

Hfcomms said:

Russia is flying and has forces in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government. Why are we there again??

Good question.

• 

 Reactions:Caretaker, Boomer Sooner, et2 and 5 others

Henry Bowman

Veteran Member

• Today at 5:47 PM

• #6

Hfcomms said:

Russia is flying and has forces in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government. Why are we there again??

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Now watch, we will get people to chime in that they are mad at the Russians for this and we need to send more etc...

• 
• 

 Reactions:Doc1 and jward

raven

TB Fanatic

• Today at 5:55 PM

• #7

Why do they need F-22s?
Why not just send F-16s?

They are only Russians after all

• 

 Reactions:mistaken1

mistaken1

Has No Life - Lives on TB

• Today at 6:59 PM

• #8

To protect ISIS

Hfcomms said:

Russia is flying and has forces in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government. Why are we there again??

The military is under orders from the CIA to protect ISIS from the Russians and Syrians.

>