Assad’s Su-22 Fitters are a constant presence in the Syrian Air War.
The following footage, recorded last week, shows a Syrian Arab Air Force Su-22M-4K Fitter fire S-8 rockets at a ground target at Aleppo, Syria.
Su-22s have been employed against Syrian insurgents since the second half of 2012.
There are several videos (most of those of poor quality) available on Youtube and Liveleak showing Syrian Su-22s as well as other fighter bombers, using unguided munitions against rebel position at low and medium altitude (and remarkable use of flares for self-defense from MANPADS).
It’s not easy to film a fast jet maneuvering to perform a rocket strike attack. Still, looks like someone managed to do it pretty well.
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It s good to see that even if a the SyAAF personnel and officers were targeted earlier in the war of attrition on Syria and the diminished capacities in result, it still remain good pilots and good ground maintenance staff making the aircrafts operationals in very bad conditions. I hope Syria will be in peace soon without the terrorists and the logistic and financial help of the so called friends of syria. And that the “war proven” of all components of the SyAA will make her stronger and effective.
This with ‘without the logistic and financial help of the so called friends of Syria’ is making me curious: the only reason why the Assadist air force (not even supporters of regime in Syria are calling it ‘Syrian Arab Air Force’ any more) is still operational, is provision of financial aid from Tehran. The same aid is keeping the entire regime afloat already since the collapse of the Syrian economy, back in November 2011.
So, when you demand foreign powers to stop supporting what you call ‘terrorists’ (apparently, all the Syrians that turned against the regime – including their families and small kids too – are called that way nowadays), do you demand Tehran to stop doing that too?
“the only reason why the Assadist air force… is
still operational, is provision of financial aid from Tehran.”
Really? And you would know this exactly how? Unless you’re a member of the Syrian general staff, or a member of an intelligence service of any number of countries, there is no way you could possibly know that.
How do I happen to know? Because I’m researching (and publishing) about Iran and Syria since several decades, and have sources that know, thanks.
The regime was unable to pay for its troops already back in November 2011: de-facto, it went bankrupt. Given the regime didn’t discover a huge source of gold or oil in the meantime, I doubt they could do so now.
On the contrary, Tehran has stated – publicly, and already two years ago – that it is supporting the regime of Bashar al-Assad financially. It is a public secret that the regime is receiving up to 1,5 billion every month from Tehran ever since (in cash and fuel). It is a public secret that what is left of the Syrian military has meanwhile been reorganized as a sort of ‘Syrian Basiji’ (see NDF), which is repeatedly proving unable of more but ‘securing’ areas ‘liberated from terrorists’ by a division-sized force composed of IRGC troops reinforced by Iraqi (and other) Shi’a recruited and trained by Tehran, and 2-3 brigades of Hezbollah. And it is a public secret that this ‘Syrian military’ is under the command of a battlefield command staff consisting entirely of IRGC officers (led by Maj Gen Suleimani, declared ‘the second most important man in Syria’ to all of Syrian officers).
Which means that the Syrian General Staff simply doesn’t matter – except as playing puppets for regime’s propaganda, of course.
True. It’s another example of the double standards from those supporting the Islamic terrorists in Syria. They only have an objection to foreigners providing aid to one side of the Syrian conflict (the Syrian government) but, no objection at all, to foreigners providing aid to the other side (the terrorist groups).
One rule for them and another for everyone else.
Stinger anyone?
Insurgents had and have comparable stuff: Russian made SA-16/18 and Chinese made FN-6 MANPADS. Still, it’s not a video game, it’s not one shot one kill when firing at fast jets.
There are few aspects you touched, and few things you appear to ignore:
– 1.) Iran is not ‘so powerful’, but it is spending more. Even if combined, the total amount of aid provided to insurgents by (in order of relevance) Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, USA, and UAE is not even half of what Iran is providing to the regime. Just for example: Tehran is spending about US$1,5 billion for Syria each month – or about 15-17 billion a year; the Saudis might have spent US$10 billion in total over the last three years.
– 2.) The nature of Iranian aid is entirely different from the aid provided by foreigners to insurgents. Correspondingly, types and (foremost) amount of weapons Iran is buying from Russia for Syria (or supplying from own production) is entirely different to what Saudis and Qataris are buying for insurgents (the supply of which is interrupted by the USA every time the regime launches another offensive).
– 3.) The ‘Syrian Arab Army’ that fought the October 1973 War with Israel is non-existing since the late 2000s, and non-existing by name since 2013. Following massive defections and losses in 2012-2013, it was re-organized as the NDF and various other militias (including plenty of foreigners too). Even significant parts of the ‘Republican Guards Division’ are meanwhile consisting of IRGC and Iraqi Shi’a units.
Indeed, their influence and presence can be seen even on the videos above: it was officers of the IRGC-QF who insisted on introduction to service of the B-8M pods for unguided rockets carried by these Su-22M-4Ks – because they are much more effective than older UB-16-57 pods (deployed in large numbers of Syrian air force’s L-39s, MiG-21s, MiG-23BNs, and Su-22s at earlier times).
– 4.) When you say that ‘most insurgents are islamists and foreigners’, you’re ignoring the fact that it is usually assessed that there are about 150,000 – 200,000 native insurgents (latter figure is the ‘most optimistic’ I’ve seen so far), while even the most ‘optimistic’ figures for the number of foreign Jihadists in Syria do not go beyond 15,000.
– 5.) The largest group including majority of foreign Jihadists – the ISIS – has never fought the regime, but insurgents only; and versa-vice: it is very seldom attacked by the regime. It’s appearance and spread through the insurgent-held areas like Dayr az-Zawr, Raqqa, Aleppo and Idlib Provinces has caused massive damage to the insurgency (including near-demise of several important Syrian insurgent groups).
Except you ignore the fact that the ISIS is a group that is treating Syrians in exactly the same (and sometimes worst) fashion like the regime, that it has improsoned – and usually liquidated – thousands of Syrian activists, journalists, and insurgents, and that it lacks popular support of local population, I do not see what is bringing anybody to the idea to call them ‘insurgents’.
You’re declaring native Syrian insurgents for ‘terrorists’ because of presence of foreign Jihadists that are fighting the insurgents.
Where’s the sense in that?