A F/A-18E Super Hornet of the United States almost collided with an Iranian QOM-1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on August 8 international airspace in the central Persian Gulf.
The Iranian drone executed unsafe and unprofessional altitude changes, the United States Central Comamnd (CENTCOM) said.
The US aircraft is operating under Strike Fighter Squadron 147, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
In Pentagon report, CENTCOM officials said despite repeated radio calls to stay clear of active fixed-wing flight operations in vicinity of the USS Nimitz, the QOM-1 executed unsafe and unprofessional altitude changes in the close vicinity of an F/A-18E that was in a holding pattern and preparing to land on the aircraft carrier.
“The F/A-18E maneuvered to avoid collision with the QOM-1 resulting in a lateral separation between the two aircraft of about 200 feet and a vertical separation of about 100 feet,” it added.
CENTCOM officials said the Iranian drone’s dangerous maneuver does not keep with international maritime customs and laws. They added that this is the 13th unsafe or unprofessional interaction between U.S. and Iranian maritime forces in 2017.