British Combat Drones And U.S. Spy Planes: Syrian Airspace Now Fully Open For Coalition

Illustrative image. (USAF Photo by Lawrence Crespo)

A British combat drone and a U.S. spy plane were spotted on unusual flights over Syria, in another sign of the emerging partnership between the country’s Islamist-led Interim Government and the United States-led coalition.

According to air traffic data from Flightradar24 and other sources, an MQ-9B Protector combat drone of the Royal Air Force (RAF) entered the Syrian airspace in the area between the capital, and the central governorate of Homs from Lebanon. The drone took off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

British drones have been flying over Syria for years as a part of the anti-ISIS coalition led by the U.S. However, their operations were previously limited to the country’s northern and eastern regions.

Click to see full-size image. (Flightradar24/X)

Soon after the drone was spotted, a Beech King Air 350i with the registration N503DE was detected flying over the city of Aleppo in northern Syria.

This specific aircraft is known to be modified for intelligence gathering. It is owned by Straight Flight, Inc., a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation, a major U.S. Department of Defense contractor specializing in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems and aircraft modifications.

The aircraft has been linked in the past directly to the U.S. Special Operations Command, more known by its acronym USSOCOM.

It reportedly took off from Erbil International Airport in the northern Iraqi semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, which is known to be a key hub for USSOCOM operations.

Click to see full-size image. (Flightradar24/X)

These flights, although significant, were not surprising. Last month, Syria joined the U.S.-led coalition. The country’s accession to the coalition came after a landmark meeting on November 10 between the U.S. President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House.

In the first joint operation between the two sides, the U.S. Central Command, also known by its acronym USSOCOM, announced on November 30 that its forces located and destroyed more than 15 sites containing ISIS weapons caches in southern Syria in cooperation with government forces.

The U.S. is already planning to further take advantage of this emerging partnership by establishing a military presence at the Mezzeh Air Base, which is located just under four kilometers away from the People’s Palace to the southwest of Damascus.

Since plans for the deployment became known last month, the air base was targeted with rockets twice. The last of the attacks was on October 8. The attacks were likely orchestrated by ISIS, or by radical Islamist elements from the government who are not happy with the decision to join the U.S.-led coalition.

The latest flights could also provoke a reaction, especially if they were followed by any joint operations with the coalition on the ground.

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