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The Kremlin has said it is concerned that a US spy plane was behind a drone attack on Russia’s Khmeimim Airbase in Syria in January.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking about a report made by Russia’s Defense Ministry. It said that the drone attack on the Russian airbase was directed from a US P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane.
Calling the report “alarming” Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin may raise the issue with his US counterpart Donald Trump when he has an opportunity.
READ MORE: US spy plane circled between Russian airbase & port facility during Syria drone attack – MoD
The Kremlin’s response comes after reportes suggested that deputy defense minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin talked about this drone attack during the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a high-profile conference on defense and security.
He claimed that 13 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had approached Russia’s Khmeimim base at the same time when the Poseidon spy aircaft was flying over the Mediterranean. Met with Russian electronic countermeasures the drones switched to manual control mode from the spy plane, he said.
Someone, he said, “guided the UAVs to the so-called holes [in Russian defenses],” which they utilized before being downed by Khmeimim’s surface-to-air missiles.
The incident occurred overnight on January 8, involving 10 UAVs targeting Khmeimim itself. Three more drones attempted a strike on the Russian naval facility at the Syrian port city of Tartus. All 13 craft were then engaged by the Pantsir-S1 air-defense system.
READ MORE: Drones are new serious terrorist threat in Syria – Russian defense minister
Three enemy drones, overridden by the Russian electronic warfare team, landed intact outside Khmeimim and were later inspected by the military. It was the first time that Syrian militants had used remote-controlled top-notch weaponry in the war. The Defense Ministry said the drones had been acquired “only from a country possessing state-of-the-art technologies.”
The Pentagon tried to rebut the Russian allegations at the time, with spokesman Adrian Rankin-Galloway claiming “those devices and technologies can easily be obtained in the open market.”
The January attack was not the only one of its kind. Russian air defenses at Khmeimim have dealt with intruder UAVs on numerous occasions throughout this summer. No drone managed to get close to the facility.
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