Apart from the incident of the MQ-9 Reaper combat drone (UCAV) which was 'squeezed' down by a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet in the Black Sea on March 14 2023, before that it turned out that there was also an incident related to the MQ-9 Reaper over the Syrian sky .
Although it did not end in a total loss, however, the incident on November 27 2022 caused damage to the turboprop engined drone.
Quoted from airandspaceforces.com (3/5/2023), it was stated that a Russian-made Hanud missile had attacked the MQ-9 Reaper drone over Syria on November 27, 2022. A source from a US defense official said that the missile exploded at a distance of about 12 meters from drone and cause damage to the drone.
Sources from US defense officials said the launch of the Russian SA-22 Pantsir missile narrowly missed the drone. The extent of the damage to the MQ-9 was not made clear, however, the drone was able to return to base and land safely.
The Pentagon referred to the incident, declining to comment on the details of what happened. Following the November 27, 2022 incident, US military officials contacted Russia via a deconfliction line administered by the militaries of both countries.
The Pantsir S-1 carries a hybrid concept that also puts forward elements of short range air defense (SHORAD) through the presence of a four-barreled 30 mm cannon. While the need for medium-range missiles comes through the 57E6 missile configuration.
Both the canon and the missile are packaged in one vehicle, plus the platform can move independently with generators, sensors, FCS control room (fire control system) and radar, all of which are integrated in containers on one truck.
The Pantsir S-1 uses the 9M335 (57E6) missile type. The missile is in the form of a booster tube in the tail that is detached at a certain distance from the launcher. The scheme of the missile is pushed out by soft launch using a compressed gas cartridge to avoid the constraints of combustion smoke which can interfere with sensors and optical systems.
The 57E6 missile has an effective range of up to 20 km and a flight altitude of 15 km. The launch speed of this missile is 1,300 meters per second within two seconds of the launch phase, then the speed will drop to 1,100 meters per second when heading for the target.
When approaching the target, the proximity fuze of the explosives will eject fragmentation of 47 small steel cylinders measuring 4 – 9 mm in diameter and 500 mm in length weighing 2 – 3 grams.
The United States currently has about 900 troops in eastern Syria supporting local partners in the fight against remnants of ISIS. Meanwhile Russian troops are also in the country, supporting the Bashar Al-Assad regime against rebel groups.
The US and Russia have established a deconfliction protocol to prevent clashes between their aircraft. However, the US says Russian warplanes have repeatedly violated the agreement, committing more than 80 such violations since March 1, 2022.
The Russian aircraft also came within 500 feet of the American aircraft during the same period, an act US officials called dangerous. A US official expressed concern that Russia might try to "start an international incident."
"We don't want to enter into conflict with Russia, nor do we want to distract from why we are there," said Pentagon Secretary, Brigadier General Patrick S. Ryder.
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