Impressive images of a Syrian Su-24 attack plane shot down by anti-aircraft fire

June 12, 2015 Syria, Troubled Areas
David Cenciotti

A Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) Su-24 Fencer attack plane was shot down near Nahtah village.

On Jun. 11, a Syrian Su-24 Fencer was reportedly shot down near Nahtah in the southern county of Dara, Syria.

According to the Luftwaffe A.S. website, the aircraft, a Su-24M2 operating from T4 AB or Seen AB, was hit by 23mm Anti-aircraft artillery.

Although some eyewitnesses said the pilot successfully ejected (note: the crew is made of two members, a pilot and a weapons systems officer…), the footage we have seen so far doesn’t show any parachute in the vicinity of the aircraft, broken in at least two parts.

The Syrian Arab Air Force was believed to count on 20 Su-24 Fencer attack planes at the beginning of the uprising. The Su-24s have been involved in several air strikes and operations.

One SyAAF Su-24 was shot down by an Israeli Patriot SAM (surface-to-air missile) battery after it penetrated the airspace over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sept. 23, 2014.

 Top image via @JosephHDempsey

 

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About David Cenciotti
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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.

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12 Comments

  1. The main reason that the planes shot down Russian production in the Middle East is because the country has not bought AWACS (A-50), and electronic warfare pods. During the war in Iraq, the US used the E-2, E-3, Prowler, and easily shot down the aircraft. The same was Libya. Aircraft of the 4th generation can effectively fight only with AWACS aircraft and electronic warfare.

        • I beg you to elaborate about how an AWACS or an electronic pod would affect the trajectory of a strafe of some 23mm bullets from an optically guided gun…

    • It’s a Syrian Su-24, not Russian, and it is believed to be shot at from the ground, so AWACS would have been next to useless. Also, almost all 4.5/4++ gen fighters have equivalent or superior situational awareness as 5 gens do.

      • I mean the fact that the Su-24 was produced in Russia(USSR), and the fact that the Russian aircraft production is constantly shoot down is not the best advertisement in the international arms market. AWACS can pinpoint the position of ground air defense radars, target designation and give anti-radar missiles. Electronic warfare pods prevent air defense missiles with an active homing head

        • It’s more to do with the fact that Syrian aircraft are suffering from a major lack of precision weaponry and quality pilot training. They’re forced to fly low to drop ‘dumb-bombs’ and become relatively easy targets for AAA and MANPADS.

        • Attrition is more to do with training and environment than the equipment itself. Hence, you have dozens of M1 Abrams getting blown to bits

  4. I wonder what an altimeter is in the cockpit for… nah, last time I checked, airplanes do not need to ask for their altitude to an AWACS.
    You may confuse AWACS with guided bombs…

  5. Lieutenants study 4 years, and of course they do not know anything(for your information, there is even a separate subject called the “Air Force tactics”). Following your logic sergeant staff generally do not listen to them. While sergeants provide the foundation on which to build an army anywhere in the world.

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