Free Republic

The Syrian fighter jet Israel shot down over the Golan Tuesday is an old Soviet-era aircraft that has formed the backbone of Syria’s air force as attrition has taken its toll over seven long years of war. It took off from the T4 Air base more than 200km from the Golan and was on a mission to bomb ISIS targets near the 1974 ceasefire line. Initially thought to be either an SU-22 or SU-24, it was flying towards Israeli airspace at high speed, the IDF said. What do we know about the SU-22 and its capabilities? According to the website...

Israel takes down Syrian plane For the second day in a row, sirens sound in Israel's north. Israel fires interceptor missiles towards Syrian plane in Israeli airspace. Sirens sounded Tuesday afternoon in regional councils in the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley, as well as in the northern city of Katzrin. Residents of northern Israel reported that two interceptor missiles were fired from the Tzfat region. The IDF confirmed that two Patriot missiles had been fired at a Syrian Sukhoi plane. The plane was being tracked, and when it reached two kilometers (1.24 miles) into Israel, it was shot down....

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, July 24 (Reuters) - Israel said it shot down a Syrian warplane that crossed into the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, but Damascus said the jet was fired on as it took part in sorties against rebels within Syria. The incident added new fuel to weeks of tensions over the Golan, a strategic plateau between the two old enemies and where Israel has been on high alert as Syrian government forces, supported by Russia, close in to regain rebel-held ground. Israel worries Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may defy a 1974 U.N. armistice that demilitarised much of the Golan, or...

At approximately 18.43hrs local time on June 18, a US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet operating over Syria shot down a Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) Su-22M4 ‘Fitter’ fighter-bomber near Tabqah, Syria. The F/A-18E (reported as BuNo 168914/AJ304) was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 ‘Golden Warriors’ (also known as ‘War Party’), which is assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8. Its pilot engaged the ‘Fitter’ and initially fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder close-range heat-seeking missile from a range of about half a mile, which was defeated by flares launched by the Su-22 pilot. The Super Hornet then re-engaged and fired...

On Thursday evening the U.S. Navy destroyers Ross and Porter launched fifty-nine Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Shayrat Air Base in Syria. In addition to striking a munitions store suspected to be holding air-dropped chemical weapons used in an attack on Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, the principal target was undoubtedly what Washington believes was the chemical weapons delivery system: the Sukhoi Su-22 fighter bombers stationed at the airbase. The Su-17/20/22 family of fighter bombers attained the name recognition of more glamorous Soviet-era aircraft like the MiG-25 or Sukhoi Su-27. This obscurity is unmerited: the swing-wing attack jets have seen...

Faced with a worsening security situation in neighboring Ukraine, Poland has issued a requirement for new attack helicopters that could be worth more than $1.3 billion. Meanwhile, however, the country’s choice of 72 new multirole helicopters worth nearly $2.7 billion is still undecided. Budget problems continue to frustrate the armed forces’ desire for new equipment. Earlier this year, Poland decided to retain one squadron of aging Su-22 strike aircraft for up to 10 more years, since it cannot afford a replacement. Poland currently operates 28 Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters, the remnants of 52 acquired since 1978. The new proposal is...

During to the visit in the 21st Tactical Air Base in Swidwin, Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak announced that the aircraft Su 22 will remain in the service. Earlier there were plans to withdrawn these machines. In Swidwin there are two tactical aviation squadrons equipped with a total of 32 Su-22M4K attack aircrafts and Su-22UM3K two-seat operational conversion trainers. All delivered even in the eighties of the last century, have never been upgraded, despite such plans in the 90's. For several years the Polish factory supporting the service of Su-22 (called Military Aviation Plant No. 2 in Bydgoszcz) also ceased to...

Five minute handycam videos show crash of apparent SU-22 amidst AAA and surface to air missile fire. Presumably taken by FSA rebels, video clip collection shows six different views of the same event. First clip is totally inconclusive, however subsequent clips in the collection suggest the most likely cause was a successful MANPADS hit. Fire is visible from the aircraft tailcone as the strike aircraft arcs through the sky and strikes the ground in a huge ball of smoke, with no pilot ejection discernible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja9divCVW94 After the success of Reagan's post-Lockerbie Libyan air raids Gaddaffi went on a years-long...

This week marks the 100th birthday celebration of the late President Ronald Reagan. And his library in the southern California city of Simi Valley has been buzzing with celebrities, politicians and well wishers. I had the opportunity to travel there and learn the ties between one N.A.S. Lemoore squadron and Mr. Reagan's presidency. And how four members of today's Navy came to serve America's 40th president after his death. When the fighter jets are training over the skies above of the Naval Air Station those call the roar they make 'The Sound of Freedom'. And in this place that is...

The Polish defense ministry is evaluating upgrades to its Su-22 and MiG-29 force to sustain its fighter inventory even as it looks to field a new trainer that also would take on light fighter roles. Decisions on the Su-22 are most acute, since the first of the aircraft will reach the end of its service life in 2014. The near-term plan is to add 200 flight hours, or two years of operational life. This would allow delaying a decision on what to do next until 2016, says Tadeusz Pieciukiewicz, a ministry representative. The question then becomes whether to pursue a...

Vietnam fighter jet crashes, pilot killed International AP News 2009-06-10 10:42 HANOI, Vietnam (AP): An official says a Vietnamese fighter jet crashed during a training mission, killing the lone pilot. A district military official who identified himself only as Thanh said the Soviet-made SU-22 crashed into a corn field Tuesday morning in Cam Thuy District in northern Thanh Hoa province after taking off from a nearby military air base. Wednesday's Youth newspaper quotes villager Truong Van Dinh as saying he heard a big explosion before the plane crashed and engulfed in a ball of fire. Several military plane crashes involving...

The discovery of an Iraqi artillery shell armed with nerve gas has the liberal community and mass media in a panic. The 155mm nerve gas shell was rigged to kill U.S. troops but it failed. U.S. Brig. General Mark Kimmitt confirmed the discovery during a news conference in Baghdad. Yet, the discovery of nerve gas was followed by a second revelation. A second shell, equipped with mustard gas was found two weeks ago. The mustard gas shell identified by the special WMD inspection team in Iraq appears to be one of 550 declared by Saddam to U.N. inspectors during the...