US shot down Iranian drone in Syria – report

A US fighter jet shot down a drone in Syria on Saturday, a rare sighting.

Israel has in the past shot down drones with warplanes. A US F-15E Strike Eagle shot down a drone in June 2017 in Syria, one of two US drone shootings by the Syrian regime.

Saturday’s fall was reported by Reuters, Fox News and Aviation Week. Reuters noted that the incident occurred in eastern Syria when the unmanned missile system was seen as a threat.

“Coalition aircraft have successfully engaged and defeated a UAS through air-to-air engagement near the Green Village mission support site,” said coalition spokesperson Col. US Army Wayne Marotto, according to Reuters.

Fox News Lucas Tomlinson wrote that “The US Air Force F-15E shot down an Iranian drone over eastern Syria yesterday after flying ‘too close’ to some of the 900 US troops deployed there – low, ”basing his report on US officials.

Separately, Aviation Week noted: “Coalition planes shot down an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) with an air-to-air missile near a US military base in eastern Syria on August 21, a. the US Central Command told Aviation Week. US officials told them that “the UAS was considered a threat and self-defense measures were taken.”

In May 2021, Israel released a video showing an F-16 fighter jet shooting down an armed suicide bomber that was flown from Gaza, an Iranian-style suicide bomber.

An Apache helicopter shot down an Iranian drone that took off from the T-4 base in Syria in February 2018 and another Iranian drone was shot down near Beit Shemesh in May 2021.

Iranian drones, supplied to pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, have threatened US installations in Iraq in recent months. Iran has also sought to target US forces in Syria.

In June, reports said the United States had used ground air defense to bring down two drones in Iraq.