US stealth fighters chase away 587 Russian and Iranian aircraft in Syrian airspace
The US announced that the presence of F-22 fighter jets forced 587 Russian, Iranian, and Syrian aircraft to withdraw from Syrian airspace.
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F-22 fighter jets refuel in the skies near Syria in 2017. Photo: USAF. |
"During the 6-month deployment in Syria, the F-22 squadron of the US 94th Air Force conducted a total of 590 independent flights with 4,600 flight hours and dropped nearly 2 tons of bombs on rebel targets"Business InsiderOctober 11 quoted the Pentagon's statement after the squadron returned to the US.
During this process, the US F-22 stealth fighters deployed in the Middle East also deterred and chased away 587 enemy aircraft in the sky of Syria, including fighters and attack aircraft from Russia, Syria and Iran. The F-22 squadron also carried out a 3-day intensive combat operation for the first time, mobilizing stealth fighters to take off at maximum frequency.
The Syrian battlefield is where US ground forces are currently facing the greatest threat from enemy air power. Therefore, F-22s are deployed to escort Navy F/A-18 fighters to protect US troops as well as air strikes against Islamic rebel groups.
F-22 fighters also participated in airstrikes against Syrian troops in response to Damascus' alleged use of chemical weapons. "F-22s flew deep into Syrian territory, facing both enemy fighter squadrons and air defense missile systems as the US-led coalition carried out the attack," the Pentagon stressed.
The US Department of Defense also confirmed that no coalition aircraft were shot down during the operation in Syria. Images taken during the latest air campaign against Damascus showed that the country's air defenses opened fire indiscriminately because they could not detect the F-22s in action.
The US began deploying F-22 stealth fighters in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to support air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria in 2014.
