An Iranian drone flew within 100 feet of a US naval jet yesterday as the American plane was trying to land on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf, the Navy said.
The encounter unfolded in international air space as the F/A-18E Super Hornet was preparing to land on the USS Nimitz.
“While operating in international airspace in the Central Arabian Gulf, an F/A-18E Super Hornet from the ‘Argonauts’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) had an unsafe and unprofessional interaction with an Iranian QOM-1 unmanned aerial vehicle,” the US Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement.
“Despite repeated radio calls to stay clear of active fixed-wing flight operations in vicinity of USS Nimitz, the QOM-1 executed unsafe and unprofessional altitude changes in the close vicinity of an F/A-18E in a holding pattern preparing to land on the aircraft carrier.
“The F/A-18E manoeuvred to avoid collision with the QOM-1 resulting in a lateral separation of approximately 200 feet and a vertical separation of approximately 100 feet.
“The dangerous manoeuvre by the QOM-1 in the known vicinity of fixed wing flight operations and at coincident altitude with operating aircraft created a collision hazard and is not in keeping with international maritime customs and laws.
“This is the 13th unsafe and/or unprofessional interaction between US and Iranian maritime forces in 2017.”