Syrian MiG-29 Fulcrum jets appear in the skies over Damascus during ground attack missions

It looks like Assad has decided to use Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) Mig-29 aircraft to attack rebel forces in Syria.

The image in this post (published on a Facebook page that covers SyAAF news) clearly shows a Syrian Fulcrum flying over Damascus with B-8 pods for 80 mm unguided rockets.

The photograph is particularly interesting because it not only witnesses the appearance of the SyAAF Fulcrum in the air war against the Free Syrian Army (FSA), but it also marks its use as an air-to-surface platform to deliver unguided weapons.

In other words, after being kept away from the war, the MiG-29 is currently being used against ground targets with “dumb” weapons that require it to fly at lower altitudes, most probably well within the MANPADS range.

Is Assad running short of all his other warplanes?

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.