There’s an American EF-111 Raven in the graphic shown by Russia to prove a Ukrainian Su-25 flew close to the MH17

July 21, 2014 Aviation, Military Aviation, Russia, Troubled Areas, War in Ukraine
David Cenciotti

Based on the graphic shown by the Russian Ministry of Defense, it was a U.S. EF-111 Raven to fly close to the MH17 just before it was shot down.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 was detected by one of Russia’s radars in the area climbing towards the MH17 on the day the civilian plane with 298 people on board was shot down.

“The SU-25 fighter jet can gain an altitude of 10km, according to its specification. […] It’s equipped with air-to-air R-60 missiles that can hit a target at a distance up to 12km, up to 5km for sure.”

Interestingly, the Russian MoD said the Su-25 (mistakenly defined as a “fighter jet” whereas it is an attack plane) operated well above its ceiling of 23,000 feet. Even more interesting the Wiki page of the Su-25 was edited (by a Russian IP address) to update its specifications…

Anyway, even though we reported the speculations about the alleged Ukrainian military activity in the surroundings of the MH17 flight, we can’t but notice that the graphic used by the Russian MoD has another major flaw: it depicts (on the left) the Boeing 777 as a Boeing 707, and the Su-25 (on the right) with the shape of an EF-111 Raven, a famous, retired, U.S. electronic warfare plane!

SOLID SHIELD '87

Top image credit: Russian MoD via RT.com; bottom: Wiki

 

 

Related articles
About David Cenciotti
WebsiteFacebookTwitterLinkedIn instagram
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.

Related Articles

9 Comments

    • Er, why not look at the history page to see the changes?
      http://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%D0%A1%D1%83-25&diff=64355568&oldid=64347004
      That page has been edited ten times in the last day or so, and over fifty times this year. to contrast, the English version has been edited twice this year.

      That said, I’m not sure what the point is. Of course most of the edits on the Russian version are going to be from Russian IPs. Also, of course a Russian aircraft is going to have a much more active page in Russian.
      I’m sure most of the edits on (for example) the French version of Wikipedia are from French IPs, and that their pages on the Mirage 2000 are more active than the English version.

  4. Thank you Russia, you are the only ones who don’t blindly accuse anyone in this incident and actually provide evidence.

    Regarding the image, notice how the 777 is a picture of an A340 or something similar? They’re just using stock images.

    I used to be an avid reader of this site but it seems now they’ve turned to anti-Russian propaganda too. You’re provided crucial evidence that might clear something up for once and you dismiss it just because one representation picture is wrong? Take a look at the actual radar images, not the presentation

    • Yep I notice a very pro Israel stance with those VICE videos. Must be a bunch of dual citizens in control of this site. Would be interesting to know the person behind the site.

    • Evidence?! Pardon? Where is there any evidence provided one way or the other? At this time there has been nothing but claims based on “intelligence” from both sides.

  5. Hey, checked Russian and English wikis – ceiling is 7000 meters. Where is editing?

Comments are closed.