There are conflicting reports on alleged clash between Russian and Israeli aircraft near Syria

Did Russian forces in Syria fire on Israeli warplanes?

Several Israeli media outlets said that Russian forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli military aircraft in the last weeks.

Although no specific dates or locations for the incidents were given, it looks like these close encounters occurred as Israeli Air Force jets hit Syria to prevent suspected arms handovers to Hezbollah.

According to Reuters, Israel’s Channel 10 TV said a Russian jet approached an Israeli warplane off the Mediterranean coast of Syria last week even though there was no contact between them.

Probably referring to the same episode, Debkafile reported of a “near clash” between four IAF F-15s and two Russian Su-30SMs on Apr. 20: flying over the Med, the Israeli jets approached Hmeymim airbase, near Latakia, in northwestern Syria, where the Russian Air Force contingent is headquartered, forcing the Russians to scramble two of their Sukhoi jets.

As of yet, the Kremlin has denied that Russian forces in Syria fired at Israeli military aircraft. It’s still not clear whether the “near clash” has occurred.

Image credit: Russian MoD

Related articles

• Here’s how the Russian Air Force moved 28 aircraft to Syria (almost) undetected
• How a Syrian nuclear facility was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force 7 years ago today
• Russia has just deployed its most advanced spyplane to Syria
• A Russian Su-34 Fullback bomber has violated the Turkish airspace yesterday
• How the Israelis got their hands on an Iraqi Mig-21 Fishbed
• New Satellite Image unveils an impressive line-up of 12 Russian Su-25 Frogfoot attack jets in Syria!
• Why are two Russian Il-78 Midas tankers deployed to Egypt? Are Moscow’s bombers heading to the Mediterranean Sea?

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.