Russia urgently deploys Su-34s to Hmeymim after the Su-24 incident.
According to Al-Masdar News, the Russian Air Force has deployed additional Su-34 attack aircraft to the Syrian battlefield following the unresolved controversy surrounding the Su-24.
According to Syrian military sources, in this latest air force reinforcement at Hmeymim, in addition to the two Su-34s, Russia also deployed a Tu-154M aircraft. This information has now been confirmed by both Russia and Syria, who stated that these three aircraft arrived in Syria on a direct flight from Russia.
According to this source, the addition of two more Su-34s brings the total number of these fighter jets in Syria to eight. Al-Masdar News suggests that the addition of these two Russian ground attack aircraft in Syria represents a significant increase in Russia's already formidable strength against jihadist groups.
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| Russian Su-34 attack aircraft. |
However, according to Arab News, this decision by Russia is related to the entire Su-24/25 squadron currently "frozen" in Syria due to a previous flight suspension by the Russian Air Force at the Hmeymim base.
Citing Russian military sources, Arab News revealed that since receiving the decision from the Russian Air Force to suspend flights with the Su-25 in Syria in early February, the entire pair of attack aircraft deployed at the Hmeymim base have remained grounded.
They are only allowed to operate intermittently in areas deemed safer. Replacing these attack aircraft in Syria are the Su-30SM and Su-35S multirole fighters.
The information revealed by Arab News is considered very surprising because, according to Russian statements, the Su-24/25 fighter jets were only ordered to be temporarily grounded to assess the actual situation on the Syrian battlefield after the Su-25 was shot down in February 2018.
If this information is confirmed by Russia, it would mean that almost all of these bombers have been grounded in Syria for more than a month now.
At the time of making the decision to ground the aircraft, the Russian Air Force made no secret of the fact that it needed to ensure offensive capability while avoiding attacks from the rebels' man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), as these new-generation fighter jets flew within the range of these missiles.
Along with the decision to ground the Su-24/25, Russia also opted for a safer solution: increasing the flight ceiling of all fighter jets and helicopters to avoid danger while on missions in Syria. To date, this flight ceiling remains in effect during Russian airstrikes in Syria.
According to new regulations of the Russian Air Force, all Russian aircraft and helicopters in Syria are only allowed to fly at an altitude of 5,000 meters or higher to ensure safety during missions. At this altitude, the missiles suspected of shooting down the Su-25 could not reach it.
Arab News explains that, given this reality, Russia's decision to deploy more Su-34s is entirely understandable because this aircraft is designed specifically for ground missions while flying within range of MANPADS missiles – a capability that is not particularly strong in either the Su-30SM or Su-35S.
