In Syrian Skies, US Pilots Learn how Fast Air War Can Morph

Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Renken, the US Air Force pilot who shot down an Iranian-made drone over Syria on June 8, 2017, speaks with US Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein. (Reuters)
Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Renken, the US Air Force pilot who shot down an Iranian-made drone over Syria on June 8, 2017, speaks with US Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein. (Reuters)
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In Syrian Skies, US Pilots Learn how Fast Air War Can Morph

Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Renken, the US Air Force pilot who shot down an Iranian-made drone over Syria on June 8, 2017, speaks with US Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein. (Reuters)
Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Renken, the US Air Force pilot who shot down an Iranian-made drone over Syria on June 8, 2017, speaks with US Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein. (Reuters)

US Air Force pilot Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Renken knew that whatever happened next might escalate the war in Syria.

The 40-year-old father of four was flying his F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet in “a race track” pattern around an Iranian-made drone, which had just tried to kill US-backed forces and their advisers on the ground, said a Reuters reported on Monday.

After the drone’s first shot failed to detonate on impact, it was positioning to strike again.

So, on June 8, in what was an unprecedented move in the US air war over Syria to that point, Renken shot it down, even as two Russian fighter jets watched from a distance.

“When we saw the drone turn back towards friendly forces, we weren’t waiting around for anybody’s permission. We destroyed it,” Renken said in his first interview about the incident.

Renken’s downing of the Iranian drone, a Shaheed 129, was the first in a series of several defensive US air-to-air shootdowns over several weeks in June that at first appeared to signal a tipping point to a far more dangerous air war in Syria.

But since the decisions by Renken and other US pilots to fire at two drones and a manned Syrian fighter jet in June, there haven’t been similarly provocative actions by pro-Syrian regime forces. US officials say they seem to have delivered the message.

Renken’s case, in many ways, highlights not just the risks of Syrian conflict in which Russia, Syria, the United States and its allies are flying military jets within targeting range of each other.

But it also illustrates the tremendous responsibility entrusted to US pilots to make life-or-death decisions in an instant, with broad, strategic implications for the war.

Renken spoke with Reuters from a US military installation in the Middle East, which does not disclose its location at the request of the country hosting it.

Lethal intent

Renken, a squadron commander, developed his Air Force career in the shadow of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda.

Renken acknowledges that the Syrian air war is, in his view, unique.

US pilots, who have enjoyed air supremacy against the insurgents they’ve been battling in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, cannot be sanguine about the risks posed by advanced Russian or Syrian jets or ground-based air defense in Syria.

Armed aircraft from Syria, Russia, the United States and its coalition allies are all flying within a “no escape” range of each other’s weapons.

“We can all engage each other. So it takes a lot of discipline and studying the nuance of a circumstance to (determine): ‘Was that an escalation?’,” Renken said.

As US-backed and Russia-backed ground forces scramble to capture what is left of ISIS’ caliphate, the risk of accidental contacts between the sides is growing, raising the stakes both on the ground and in the air.

But while the US military has had years to iron out how and when to engage ISIS fighters on the ground, American pilots are still gaining experience deciphering hostile intent by other aircraft in the skies above Syria.

Closer than thought

The US Air Force proudly boasts that no US soldier has been killed by enemy aircraft since 1953. But the drone attack threatened to change that, if accounts by two US officials of a limited American presence in the convoy that day are correct.

The US military initially said the drone dropped a bomb that missed the convoy, which included US-backed fighters and their advisors. Renken offered a slightly different account.

He said the drone was actually carrying missiles. When it fired, it hit the door of one of the vehicles with a munition that failed to detonate, he said.

“It was a dud round. So, very lucky,” Renken said. “It was definitely intended to be a lethal shot.” The criteria needed to fire the drone had been clearly met, he said.

Still, one factor complicating his decision to return fire was the presence of the Russian “Flanker” fighter jets, who might think that Renken was shooting at them.

“Is (the Russian pilot) going to see a missile come off of my aircraft and consider that a potential aggression against him?” he explained.

Another problem was that the drone was small enough that the missile Renken would fire could potentially go long and inadvertently head toward the Russian jet.

"(There) was a lot of potential for escalation," he said.

For Renken, the big takeaway for pilots is that the war in Syria has evolved far beyond simply striking ISIS targets on the ground.

US pilots have to be prepared for anything.

"What this recent event has proven is that you can't take for granted that you know what the fight is going to look like," Renken said.

"You need to walk in ready for it to metastasize into any hybrid variation."



Germany’s Merz Announces Gaza Aid Airlift, Mulls Upping Ante on Israel

 28 July 2025, Berlin: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at a press conference at the Federal Chancellery, after the Security Cabinet meeting on the conflicts in the Middle East. (dpa)
28 July 2025, Berlin: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at a press conference at the Federal Chancellery, after the Security Cabinet meeting on the conflicts in the Middle East. (dpa)
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Germany’s Merz Announces Gaza Aid Airlift, Mulls Upping Ante on Israel

 28 July 2025, Berlin: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at a press conference at the Federal Chancellery, after the Security Cabinet meeting on the conflicts in the Middle East. (dpa)
28 July 2025, Berlin: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at a press conference at the Federal Chancellery, after the Security Cabinet meeting on the conflicts in the Middle East. (dpa)

Germany will immediately launch an airlift to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza as it considers stepping up pressure on Israel over the "catastrophic" situation in the enclave, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday.

As the death toll from almost two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fueling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions.

Germany, together with the United States, has long remained one of Israel's staunchest allies and largest arms suppliers.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday many people were starving in the enclave, contradicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who denied there was starvation there.

The German security cabinet convened for more than two hours on Monday to discuss the situation, Merz told a news conference in Berlin. While it welcomed Israel's announcement of a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza as an "important first step", it agreed more must follow.

Asked if the council discussed sanctions like suspending the EU pact governing relations with Israel, a move Germany has in the past rejected, Merz said the council had discussed what options were available.

"We are keeping such steps on the table," he said.

Before making any decisions, however, he would try to speak with Netanyahu later on Monday and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul would travel to the region on Thursday, possibly together with his British and French counterparts. The German government would then reassess the situation over the weekend.

In the meantime, Berlin would do what it could to help alleviate the humanitarian situation, launching an airlift in cooperation with Jordan to deliver aid into Gaza.

"Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will closely coordinate with France and the UK, who are also willing to provide such an airlift for food and medical supplies," he said.

"We know that this can only provide very limited help for the people in Gaza, but it is nonetheless a contribution we are eager to make."

Germany would also prepare for a Gaza reconstruction conference in coordination with regional partners, Britain and France, he said. "No further expulsions from the Gaza Strip must occur."

German officials say their approach to Israel is governed by a special responsibility, known as the Staatsraison, arising from the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust.

They have long believed they can achieve more through diplomatic back channels than public statements. But Merz has come under growing pressure in recent weeks, including from within his own coalition, to take a firmer stance on Israel, and faced broad criticism for failing to join a statement last week by dozens of Western nations condemning the "inhumane killing" of Palestinians.