Syrian air defenses ‘harass’ Turkish aircraft by putting them under radar lock: General Staff

Three F-16 jets were placed under radar lock by Syrian air defense systems, the Turkish General Staff said on Nov. 16

Syrian air defense systems harassed three Turkish jets flying over the southern province of Hatay by placing them under a radar lock, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on its website today.

The three F-16 jets, which took off in succession from İncirlik Airbase in Adana and the Merizfon Airbase in the northern Anatolian province of Amasya, were each put under a radar lock for 10 seconds by Syrian missile systems while flying in Turkish airspace over Hatay’s Dörtyol district, the statement said.

A radar lock means that the missiles of the launch batteries were targeting the Turkish planes, ready to be fired. 

Syria downed a Turkish F-4 jet that was flying over the Mediterranean Sea on June 22, 2012. 

More recently, Turkey shot down a Syrian helicopter on Sept. 16 after arguing that it had violated Turkish airspace by two kilometers.