Russian fighter jet damages US drone with flares over Syria

A Russian fighter jet “harassed” a US drone over Syria, deploying flares and striking the aircraft, the United States Air Forces Central (US AFCENT) has said.

Footage shows the fighter jet flying close to a US MQ-9 drone.

In a statement, the US AFCENT said: “Russian fighter aircraft flew dangerously close to a U.S. MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission, harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead, with only a few meters of separation between aircraft.”

The US has said a flare struck the drone, damaging its propellor, but it got back safely to its home base.