This Video Shows A Russian Su-30SM Almost Getting “Into” The Cargo Bay Of An Il-76 Airlifter Involved In Air Drop Over Syria

December 7, 2017 Russia, Syria, Troubled Areas
David Cenciotti

An armed Russian Su-30SM gets much close to a UN Il-76 over Deir Ez Zor, Syria.

The video in this post was reportedly filmed during a mission over Deir Ez Zor, Syria.

It shows an armed Russian Air Force Su-30SM jet, escorting an Il-76 involved in an air-drop from high altitude, getting much close to the cargo bay of the airlifter after the pallets are dropped.

We don’t know when the footage was shot. However, it must have been filmed during one of the +250 UN agency World Food Program’s airdrops of humanitarian aid to Syrians: indeed, starting from Feb. 24, 2016 to September 2017, WFP has conducted air-drops in the Deir Ez Zor area, using an Il-76, to deliver vital food and humanitarian suppliesto trapped families in the besieged city in northeastern Syria.

A screenshot from the Russian TV showing the Il-76 escorted by a Russian Su-35 during the first air-drop in 2016.

Flying from Amman, Jordan, a white-colored Il-76 with UN markings (RA-76780) flew to the airdrop area escorted by Russian Air Force aircraft deployed to Hmeymim airbase, including the Su-35S, and the Su-30SM shown in the video.

The UN aircraft could be tracked online using ADS-B on Flightradar24.com during these missions.

The Su-30SM is a multirole derivative of the Su-27 Flanker. It’s a special variant of the thrust-vectoring Su-30MKI and MKM produced by the Irkut Corporation for the Russian Air Force. It’s a 4+ Generation twin-engine, two seat supermaneuverable multi-role aircraft equipped with improved avionics, the Bars-R radar and a wide-angle HUD (Head Up Display).

H/T Vladimir Konovalov and Trevor Siders for the heads-up

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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5 Comments

  1. Well, looking at the small time gab between the airdrop and the Flanker showing up, the fighter was sure close to the pallets when they left the Candid’s cargo bay.
    Nice timing and video, I liked seeing all the control surfaces moving to maintain the Flanker level on the wake of the cargo, even if I would consider the whole stunt a bit reckless.

  2. My question is how close those pallets were to that bird when they rolled out. Vid looks like they rolled out just behind their port side.

  4. If I was on the ramp I would have a full chubby but at the same time holding back a brick.

  5. Your inability to see things in the right way is the reason why you use to posting so much crap.

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