{"id":26100,"date":"2015-12-18T15:35:45","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T15:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2015\/12\/18\/air-force-no-letup-in-syria-airstrikes-despite-russian-air-defenses\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:44:24","slug":"air-force-no-letup-in-syria-airstrikes-despite-russian-air-defenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2015\/12\/18\/air-force-no-letup-in-syria-airstrikes-despite-russian-air-defenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force: No letup in Syria airstrikes despite Russian air defenses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Defense Department is pushing back on a media report that the U.S. has stopped flying manned aircraft over northwest Syria in support of indigenous forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloombergview.com\/articles\/2015-12-17\/new-russian-air-defenses-in-syria-keep-u-s-grounded\">Bloomberg View<\/a>\u00a0reported on Thursday that Russia has sent new advanced air\u00a0defense systems to Syria, which had been used to target U.S. planes over a key area over\u00a0northwestern part of the country known as &#8220;Box 4.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The Pentagon halted all manned flights, although U.S. drones are still flying in the area,&#8221; the story says. &#8220;Russia then began bombing the rebels the U.S. had been supporting.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But defense officials told Military Times that the story is filled with inaccuracies, such as its headline, &#8220;New Russian Air Defenses in Syria Keep U.S. Grounded.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This is inaccurate as the Coalition is not grounded and continues to conduct airstrikes anywhere Daesh is present in Syria \u2014 to include northwest Syria,&#8221; said Maj. Tim Smith, a spokesman for U.S. Air Forces Central Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith also said the U.S. is continuing to provide air support to indigenous forces in Syria, which are fighting the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The presence of Russian-supplied advanced air defense systems in Syria systems will not deter us from achieving our objectives,&#8221; Smith said in an email to Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That means that the U.S. is still flying airstrikes over northwest Syria using both manned and unmanned aircraft, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;An airstrike is an airstrike and the Coalition continues to conduct counter-Daesh airstrikes throughout Syria,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;Whether we employ manned or unmanned aircraft to conduct a strike ultimately leads to the same effect for Daesh: death and destruction at the end of a precision guided munition.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smith <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">especially <\/span>took particular exception to this sentence in the Bloomberg View story: &#8220;At this crucial moment, the U.S. is not only decreasing pressure, but acquiescing to Russian pressure.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is &#8220;absolutely not true&#8221; because the U.S.-led coalition continues to put pressure on the Islamic State group\u00a0through airstrikes in support of anti-Islamic State group\u00a0fighters on the ground, Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Unhelpful actions by Russia and the Syrian regime will not stop Coalition counter-Daesh operations in Syria, nor will such actions push the Coalition away from specific regions in Syria where Daesh is operating,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josh Rogin, one of the two reporters who wrote the Bloomberg View story, said he stands by his reporting and his administration sources say the story is accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;No one has denied the basic facts of the article, namely that manned flights in Box 4 were halted in response to Russian deployment of an SA-17 [radar]\u00a0inside Syria,&#8221; Rogin told Military Times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Defense Department is pushing back on a media report that the U.S. has stopped flying manned aircraft over northwest Syria in support of indigenous 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