Iranian drone nearly collides with US Navy Super Hornet

An Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle nearly collided with a Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing to land on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). The incident occurred Aug. 8.

According to a report by the Washington Times, the Iranian QOM-1 drone came within 100 yards of the Super Hornet assigned to the "Argonauts" of Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA 147), forcing the pilot to take evasive action. That squadron is assigned to the Nimitz, which has been on deployment to the Persian Gulf where it has been supporting anti-ISIS operations.

"The dangerous maneuver by the QOM-1 in the known vicinity of fixed wing flight operations and at coincident altitude with operating aircraft created a collision hazard and is not in keeping with international maritime customs and laws," U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a post on their Facebook page.

The action marked the 13th incident involving Iran that was either unsafe, unprofessional, or both, in 2017, according to a Defense Department statement. In multiple instances, American ships have been forced to fire warning shots at the Iranian forces who have acted in an unsafe manner, and a Marine Corps helicopter was targeted by an Iranian laser. 2016 also saw a number of incidents between Iranian and American vessels, as well as threats directed towards American aircraft.

The vast majority of the unsafe encounters with Iran have involved naval vessels. These incidents involving aircraft have usually involved Russian or Chinese planes and American units. In one notable incident, Russian Su-24 "Fencers" buzzed the destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78).

Late last year, American ships, notably the Arliegh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) were fired at by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels using Iranian-built Noor anti-ship missiles.