The fateful 8-minute dogfight of the American pilot

The group of US Navy fighter pilots who shot down a Syrian Air Force fighter jet on June 18th have provided a detailed account of the fateful eight-minute dogfight.

The downing of the aircraft was the first "air-to-air" kill by the US military since 1999 and the first by the US Navy since 1991, Sputnik reported.

Four pilots involved in the recent downing of a Syrian fighter jet attended the Tailhook 2017 symposium – an event aimed at fostering camaraderie among U.S. Navy pilots. There, they described in detail the dogfight between a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet and a Syrian Air Force Su-22 Fitter over Raqqa, Syria.

The pilots took off from the aircraft carrier George W. Bush, which had been in the Mediterranean Sea for several days prior. Pilot Michael "MOB" Tremel stated that he and support pilot Jo Jo Krueger were carrying out a simple mission: providing air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – an ally of the United States.

"We arrived in Raqqa, and at that time, the area was quite hot and there were many other pilots dropping bombs," Tremel recounted.

Tremel and Krueger coordinated with two other Hornet fighter jets also launched from the aircraft carrier Bush. They then spotted a Su-22 circling overhead. According to Tremel, they initially thought the aircraft belonged to the Russian Air Force – a common sight in Syrian skies.

Initially, Tremel decided to monitor the Su-24's activities. While Tremel tried to find the aircraft's ID, Krueger focused on communicating with the aircraft. Soon after, the Super Hornet pilots realized that the aircraft was not Russian but Syrian.

Immediately after identifying the aircraft, Tremel sent out a series of messages to the Su-22. However, the Su-22 continued to approach the Syrian infantry on the ground.

Tremel stated that he and the support pilot Krueger performed a series of close-range flights over the Su-22 while simultaneously issuing warnings. This action was intended to intimidate the Su-22 into turning back, but they achieved the opposite result.

After the Su-22 took off, Tremel decided to fire an infrared-guided AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, but missed. Immediately afterward, Tremel launched a second missile: a radar-guided AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missile. This time, the missile hit its target, and the Su-22 crashed, its pilot ejecting.

After that, Tremel and Kruegger decided to return to the George W. Bush.

According to Vietnamnet.vn