“The first time it happened, we thought the Russians got lucky. Then it happened two more times." - U.S. official briefed on intelligence.
Russian fighter jets shadowed U.S. predator drones on at
least three separate occasions high above Syria since the start of Russia’s air
campaign last week, according to two U.S. officials briefed on this latest
intelligence from the region.
Meanwhile, U.S. Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters a
U.S. aircraft flying over Syria had to be rerouted to avoid a Russian fighter
jet at least once.
“We have taken action to maintain safe separation,” Davis
said, adding that the U.S. aircraft "changed path a little bit." He
did not disclose which type of U.S. aircraft was involved.
U.S. officials tell Fox News the drone encounters took
place over ISIS-controlled Syria, including its de facto headquarters in Raqqa,
as well as along the Turkish-Syrian border near Korbani. Another occurred in
the northwest, near the highly contested city of Aleppo.
“The first time it happened, we thought the Russians got
lucky. Then it happened two more times,” said one official.
The U.S. military's MQ-1 Predator drone is not a stealth
aircraft.
"It is easy to see a predator on radar," said
one official.
The Russians have not attempted to shoot down any of the
U.S. drones, but instead have flown "intercept tracks," a doctrinal
term meaning the Russians flew close enough to make their presence felt,
according to one official.
One other official said, “the Russians flew very close,
but did not impede the drone flight.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook, traveling with the
defense secretary in Europe leading up to a NATO ministerial meeting in
Brussels Thursday, said the Pentagon is open to more military-to-military talks
with the Russians. No immediate date has been established to conduct the next
round of talks, according to one defense official.
This development comes as Russia has moved some of its
Mi-24 gunships and transport helicopters from an air base along the
Mediterranean to another air base outside Homs, roughly 100 miles away. Russian
ground forces, hundreds of Russian marines -- as well as four BM-30 Smerch
rocket launchers capable of firing cluster munitions, mines as well as high
explosive warheads -- are now in position to strike, but there is no evidence
they have done so according to multiple defense officials. Infantry fighting
vehicles and more a conventional artillery battery has also been seen by the
intelligence community.
All these movements demonstrate the Russians are forming
a "protective belt" around Latakia, the stronghold of Syrian President
Bashar Assad, and are carrying out airstrikes against anti-Assad rebel forces,
some backed by the CIA, to protect both regime and Russian interests, including
a Russian naval base in Tartus established in the 70s.
The Pentagon maintains the vast majority of strikes from
its forward operating base at Bassel al-Assad airport in Latakia including some
30 fighter/bomber jets have been against Syrian opposition forces and not ISIS,
and one official pushed back on Russian defense ministry claims on the number
of strikes the Russians have launched.
"The Russians carried out only one half or at best a
quarter of the strikes they claim to have conducted," said a senior
military official.
Over the past weekend, Turkey claims that Russia on two
separate occasions violated its airspace. Despite Turkish pressure on NATO and
top US government officials calling the action "unprofessional" and a
"provocation" two senior US military officials downplayed the
incident.
"The Russians flew along the border and we still don't
know for sure what happened."
At least one of the alleged incidences occurred in
Turkey's Hatay Province.
In 1939, land belonging to Syria and the Assad family in
the northwest, along the Mediterranean bordering Latakia where the Russia has
established an air base, was annexed by Turkey. Syria has never recognized the
action and the two countries have been bitter enemies ever since.
**Lucas Tomlinson is the Pentagon and State Department
producer for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @LucasFoxNews
***Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national
security correspondent for FOX News Channel . She joined FNC in October 1999 as
a Jerusalem-based correspondent.