Syrian missile system targets Turkish F-16 near border

ISTANBUL

Syria harassed the Turkish jet by putting it under a radar lock for four minutes and 30 seconds.

Syrian air missile batteries put a Turkish jet conducting a border patrol under a radar lock, in a move considered a hostile act, the Turkish General Staff has said in a statement.

“An F-16 jet was performing an air patrolling duty on the Turkish-Syrian border, in the southern province of Hatay, when an SA-5 missile system deployed in Syria harassed it by putting it under a radar lock for four minutes and 30 seconds,” the statement said.

A radar lock is considered a hostile act, as it amounts to interference with a plane’s navigational systems, indicating that a missile is ready to be fired at it.

The tension has escalated in the region after Turkish fighter jets downed a Syrian jet on March 23 after it crossed into Turkish airspace.