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

April 22, 2016 Russia, Syria, Troubled Areas
David Cenciotti

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

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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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8 Comments

  1. The Su-30SM is an excellent aircraft but if I was the Russians I’d be careful about taking on Israeli F-15’s.

    They have an outstanding track record dating back to the 70’s of killing Russian airplanes and they’re not to be trifled with.

  2. “Israeli Air Force jets hit Syria to prevent suspected arms handovers to Hezbollah”

    Yes, the Lebanese has the right to defend themselves too you know. It is not an exceptional jewish right for squatters in occupied Palestine.No. the Zionazi´s was bombing SAA to help their mercenaries in the area before, somehow the cowards dont do that now…..i think they got the message.

  3. Oh BS! The Russians did not fire on the Israelis. They are working together against the terrorists.

    This was most likely just an interception of Israeli fighters by the Russians. A few hellos and then see ya later.

  5. Now this would be interesting. Imagine if we finally saw a clash between modern fighter jets from West and Russia, manned by trained pilots. Next time I want to see some Python 5 missiles flying.

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