Free Republic

DRAMATIC footage captured the moment Ukraine "shot down" a Russian Tu-22M3 nuke bomber sending it spiralling to the ground. The £228million aircraft was part of Vladimir Putin’s nuclear strike force - and the downing is seen as a major blow to the dictator. It crashed over the Stavropol region - some 250 miles from the border - in southern Russia after completing a bombing attack on Ukraine. The long-range strategic bomber was shot down by a S-200 anti-aircraft missile system, said Channel 2, citing sources in Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency. The GUR said: “As a result of the damage,...

The Israeli army has stated that all intelligence on the Russian aircraft downed in Latakia on Monday will be shared with Moscow. The Israeli army statement said when the Syrian air defense systems fired the missiles that downed the Russian aircraft, Israeli Air Force had already returned to Israeli air field. The Israeli army argued that the incident had been caused by the Syrian air defense systems’ “extensive and inaccurate” fire. The statement said, “The Syrian anti-air batteries fired indiscriminately and from what we understand, did not bother to ensure that no Russian planes were in the air.” The Israeli...

Commander: Russians Stunned by Iranian Version of S-200 Air Defense System TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian military commander said that the country's experts have been able to optimize the Russian-made S-200 anti-aircraft missile system so well that the Iranian version of the system has stunned Russian experts. Speaking to FNA on Tuesday, Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli said that Iran's air defense specialists have been able to optimize the S-200 surface-to-air missile system to a remarkable extent and Iran plans to change the system's name due to the profound changes it has made in...

Iran Keen to Export Air-Defense Systems TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian military commander on Sunday stressed Iran's capability to supply the country's air-defense needs, and voiced Tehran's preparedness to export home-made air-defense systems to foreign countries. "We are supplying all of our needs in the field of air-defense domestically and inside the country," Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani told FNA. He stressed that Tehran has the capability to export air-defense systems, and added, "When we start production of a weapon it means that we are mass-producing it and we can export our surplus products...

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian air force experts optimized S-200 surface-to-air missile system. The missile unit of the air force successfully test fired the optimized version of S-200 missiles in a ceremony on Sunday attended by army and government officials.