Latest imagery shows 28 Russian aircraft (12 Su-24s, 12 Su-25s and 4 Su-30s) on the ground at airbase in Syria

Imagery taken on Sept. 21 shows 28 aircraft on the ground at Latakia airbase.

A satellite image has finally unveiled the whole Russian Air Force contingent made of 28 combat planes deployed to Syria: taken on Sept. 21, the photograph shows 4 Su-30SMs, 12 Su-25SMs and 12 Su-24s lined up, in the open air, along runway 17L at al-Assad International Airport, near Latakia, in western Syria.

Whether the aircraft will remain at Latakia (where no hardened shelters have been built yet) or will move somewhere else is unclear. For the moment, they are expected to launch the first sorties from Latakia quite soon.

Based on the couple of videos emerged so far, it seems quite likely that the 28 aircraft deployed to Syria in four-ship formations led by Il-76s, Il-78s and (maybe) An-124 airlifters, in radio silence and shadowing the accompanying cargo/tanker planes to remain “stealth” to radars along the route.

Top Image: Alan Wilson/Wiki. Imagery: Copyright CNES 2015, Distribution Airbus DS

 

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.