Russian spyplane and U.S. MQ-9 ER Reaper sharing the same airspace over Syria

The skies over northwest Syria are still much crowded.

The following video was allegedly filmed on Apr. 6 in Idlib, Syria.

It shows a Russian Air Force Il-20M Coot spyplane flying more or less in the same airspace (although at a different altitude) as an U.S. MQ-9 ER (Extended Range) Reaper drone.

The footage is extremely interesting for two reasons: first of all, it proves the Il-20s have resumed flying over Syria. In fact, the spyplane was not spotted quite often recently, especially after a Tu-214R was temporarily used in the theater.

Second, the MQ-9 seems to carry an underwing tank (or a sensor pod?) and AGM-114 Hellfire pylons with an ASM (Air to Surface Missile) still available. The question is, the other three AGM-114 missiles were fired during the same mission?

H/T @green_lemonnn

About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.