Russian military flights close to the Syria-Turkey border, an area already tense with air operations by the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition, have heated up the skies over the region. First, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported that Russian Su-24 and Su-30s had violated Turkey’s airspace in the Hatay region on Oct. 3. Then, the office of the Chief of the General Staff announced that an unidentified MiG-29 had locked its radar on a Turkish F-16 on air patrol on Oct. 4. The high command also reported that air defense batteries in Syria had locked their radar on Turkish F-16s flying along the border.
What do these incidents signify? Security analyst Arda Mevlutoglu told Al-Monitor that Russia is using harassment and intrusions to send the US-led anti-IS coalition the message “I am here” as well as probing the capabilities of Turkey and the coalition's air force.