Russian ASF General Explains How His Pilots Chased Away American F-22 "Raptor" Over Syria Without Triggering World War
Last night — and this time it's very serious - the world was close to a military confrontation between two nuclear powers, Russia and the U.S. In an incredibly dangerous incident in the skies over Syria, an American F-22, which is called a stealth fighter, fired what we now know to be warning flares at our attack aircraft Su-25 at close range. We want to emphasize again that only false heat targets were shot.
These details are basically all we know about the incident. Apart from this, the story is full of riddles. There are two official explanations, one from each of the countries. Russia's Ministry of Defense says that the attack aircraft was acting in compliance with the agreement with the U.S., to the west of Euphrates. However, Americans claim that the aircraft crossed the river, violating the airspace of the American safety zone.
Unpleasant déjà vu, by all means. This is something we've already seen and experienced. Now the Americans are threatening that the next time they will definitely down the plane: "The F-22s conducted multiple maneuvers to persuade the Su-25s to depart our deconflicted airspace, including the release of chaff and flares in close proximity to the Russian aircraft. At one point, a Su-25 flew so close to an F-22 that it had to aggressively maneuver to avoid a collision. This incident lasted approximately 40 minutes. Since the agreement was made, the Russians have flown into our airspace on the east side of the river 6 to 8 times per day. The coalition's greatest concern is that we could shoot down a Russian aircraft because its actions are seen as a threat to our air or ground forces."
Today we have a very special guest in our studio. Major General Vladimir Popov, an Honoured Military Pilot of Russia.
- Vladimir, tell us, please, how dangerous was this situation which was reported by our Ministry of Defense and commented on by Pentagon? Can we say that it was almost a conflict, a military clash of the two superpowers?
Vladimir Popov:
- First, we shouldn't really call it a clash. Second…
- But it was close.
- There were no military actions between two countries, or rather two coalitions. Why did it shoot off false heat targets? Well, the situation was, of course, provocative. That's true.
- But what's the reason for shooting flares or false heat targets?
- These actions are meant to attract extra attention and create tension. They put the pilots working in the area in an abnormal psychological and physiological state. So we shouldn't rule out the idea that they were following their own protocol. It was nothing but provocation. Also, the flight safety wasn't threatened enough to be afraid of them.
- They were just carrying out their task. -So what happened, in layman's terms? There was a convoy on the ground, supported from the air by our Su-25 which was ensuring convoy's safety. As far as we know, an F-22 approached from the left and at a dangerously close distance started shooting off false heat targets. As we understand, the Su-25 didn't change its trajectory. This was happening at 3,000 meters. But then, from the altitude of 10,000 meters, came a real stealth aircraft — our Su-35. It convinced this guy to retreat back to his area of responsibility. Is that how it happened?
- More or less. But we were also working there before that. We were engaging with certain targets on the ground, clearing the airspace and ensuring its safety. In these situations, when aircraft come very close to each other, when they conduct certain maneuvers, Americans say that our actions are out of line. But in this case, we can say that they were out of line. Why? We were performing a military operation in our airspace. And to this day the UN didn't give carte blanche or issue an official invitation to those guys who are based in Baghdad and who fly in the coalition's airspace over Syria. It's not on paper. And we have been officially invited to carry out military operations in the interest of the state which is fighting for its freedom and independence.
- Nevertheless, we understand all too well that the 'American guys', as you called them, see everything differently. We are about to leave Syria, and they are staying there, legally as they think. 2,000 American people.
-That's why they are so bold.
- Maybe. But if we have to make a prognosis... You used the word 'provocation.' Was it dangerous or not so dangerous? How could all of this have ended? Can you paint us a picture?
- Collisions in midair are very rare. Very rare. You should understand that both Russian and American pilots practice radio awareness while in the air, which means we listen carefully to get a rough idea of what's going on. We also see the radar situation on our aircraft screens. There's a collision prevention system and an attack prevention system. These systems work, so we know what is out there and where. We understand the situation in terms of positions. And third, we perform visual checks, turning our heads in all directions. Constantly. And that's why collisions, the way we imagine cars colliding at an intersection, just don't happen.
-Why did he leave then? Because the pilot who came down from 10,000 meters shook his finger at him?
- He realized that we are close, that we are pushing him out. We are not attacking, but we are pushing him out.
-Okay.
-We approached close enough to make him snap.
-Your gesture means landing, right?
- It's about getting under their skin.
- But it's dangerous, right?
- It is dangerous. But the servicemen are trained to carry out their tasks at any cost. And this task was never rescinded.