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Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

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Harkins
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Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Harkins » Wed Nov 18, 2015 8:51 pm

As this conflict has to date been primarily an air war (from the West's perspective at least) and has recently started to crank up, I thought I'd like to start a topic for the subject.

I came across some interesting footage on YouTube today that I think was issued by the Russian Air Force and parts of which were used on the BBC news last night - this is it. Some pretty rare footage of some awesome aircraft.

One thing that has struck me in the last 48 hours is that ISIS must have a phenomenal number of Command and Control Centres. Given that the US led coalition started its campaign back in the summer of 2014 and in the last few days the Russian and French air arms have claimed to have destroyed numerous CCC's in the heaviest bombing of the campaign so far, they must have more command and control centrex than I've had hot dinners. I wonder what actually constitutes an ISIS CCC.

Another aspect that I can't quite fathom is what exactly the UK can bring yo the campaign. I personally don't think it matters a great deal in as much as joining in won't make the UK a greater target for terrorism as it already very much is. And with our tiny number of airworthy strike aircraft, I can't see that our contribution is going to make even the slightest difference militarily either. So is it purely a political gesture? The mad thing is, the US alone have enough aircraft themselves to finish this in an afternoon if they had a Russian attitude to collateral damage. I'm not saying that they could defeat fundamentalist terrorism, because that's impossible but they could bring an end to the attempted Islamic State before tea time.

Anyway, I couldn't find anywhere where this was being discussed in a broader but air power-centric thread on any sites that I read. So I thought this seemed the best site to get read some interesting debate, thoughts and links.

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Lofty89
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Lofty89 » Wed Nov 18, 2015 11:14 pm

12 Tu-22M3 Backfires departed Mozdok and struck Raqqa & Deir Ez-Zur at 0500 and 1600 on the 17/11/15
5 Tu-95MS Bears and 6 Tu-160 Blackjacks departed Engles and launched 34 cruise missiles at around 0900 on the 17/11/15 this was the first time the Tu-95 has been used in combat since it entered service in 1956!

Tu-22M3s also struck 6 land targets this morning (18/11/15) at around 0230z
Tu-160s launched cruise missiles over Russian territory at around 0600z (18/11/15)

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Sparts99 » Thu Nov 19, 2015 9:53 am

Quite an escalation by the Russians. Surely the US and Russia must be talking to each other, the risk of an incident with that amount of activity must be huge.
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by T_J » Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:09 am

Released by Russian Ministry of Defence from the recent airstrikes in Syria.

Kh-101 cruise missiles from Tu-160 Blackjack



Kh-555 cruise missiles from Tu-95MS Bear H



OFAB bombs from Tu-22M Backfire C



Possible cruise missile malfunction or shoot down in Syria?



Appears to be remains of Kh-101 cruise missile?

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http://bmpd.livejournal.com/1583159.html

The Tu-95MS Bear H Morse net ground control is currently active with beacon markers.

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T_J
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by T_J » Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:18 am

The Russian Ministry of Defence used the following cruise missile footage from Syria (17/11/15) in a video release.



Malfunctions or shoot downs of air launched cruise missiles?





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Vulcanone
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Vulcanone » Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:22 am

I'm not sure that standing so close to a burning cruise missile is a good idea?

Unless they are the bad guys :whistle:

In which case :ninja:

:Oops:

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T_J
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by T_J » Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:35 pm

Iranian F-14 Tomcats escorting Russian Air Force Tu-95MS Bear H

Image

See 1:20 for F-14 Tomcats and 1:13 for F-4 Phantom


Harkins
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Harkins » Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:36 pm

There's loads of footage appearing on various news sites of Russian strikes now but one posted on the Sky News site is particulalry interesting as I'm pretty sure it shows a Tu-95 Bear being escorted by an Iranian F-14. Can't work out how to embed the video here's a link to the page. The F-14 appears at about 1:14.

edit: Beat me to it T_J. Thanks for posting them.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by T_J » Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:38 pm

Long range mission by Tu-160s from the Atlantic through the Gibraltar Strait and into the Mediterranean to launch cruise missiles.
Su-30SM fighters met and escorted Tu-160s, which launched cruise missiles over the Mediterranean

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T_J
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by T_J » Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:40 pm

Harkins wrote:edit: Beat me to it T_J. Thanks for posting them.
No problem, Harkins. :thumb:

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Harkins » Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:07 pm

T_J wrote:Long range mission by Tu-160s from the Atlantic through the Gibraltar Strait and into the Mediterranean to launch cruise missiles.
Su-30SM fighters met and escorted Tu-160s, which launched cruise missiles over the Mediterranean
I wonder if they were the ones that today's news reports say were intercepted by QRA from Lossiemouth Thursday night? And going the long way round to fire the cruise misiles; is that killing two birds with one stone? Hitting targets in Syria and providing a live demonstration of Russian global strike capability?

I've got to say that those Tu-160's really are beautiful aircraft.

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T_J
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by T_J » Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:29 pm

Harkins wrote:
T_J wrote:Long range mission by Tu-160s from the Atlantic through the Gibraltar Strait and into the Mediterranean to launch cruise missiles.
Su-30SM fighters met and escorted Tu-160s, which launched cruise missiles over the Mediterranean
I wonder if they were the ones that today's news reports say were intercepted by QRA from Lossiemouth Thursday night? And going the long way round to fire the cruise misiles; is that killing two birds with one stone? Hitting targets in Syria and providing a live demonstration of Russian global strike capability?

I've got to say that those Tu-160's really are beautiful aircraft.
Very impressive mission.

The Tu-160 in the video over the Mediterranean is RF-94104.

This is one of the serials intercepted over the Atlantic.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=122409&start=20

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by markranger » Fri Nov 20, 2015 9:01 pm

As this is going to go on a while I think it might be worth making it a sticky.
No real time missions talk obviously.
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MRTT
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by MRTT » Sun Nov 22, 2015 6:08 pm

Thought I would post a list of all aircraft currently deployed in the Middle East fighting ISIS.

United States of America
USS George H.W Bush Carrier Strike Group
USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group
?x USAF Mc Donnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
?x USAF Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon
?x USN Boeing F/A-18 Hornet
?x USN Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet
?x USAF Lockheed F-22A Raptor
?x USMC Mc Donnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier
?x USAF Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt
?x USAF Rockwell B-1B Lancer
?x USAF Lockheed AC-130 Spectre
?x USMC/USN Grumman EA-6 Prowler
?x USN Boeing EA-18G Growler
?x USAF C-130 Hercules
?x USAF Lockheed U-2A
1x USAF Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS
?x USAF Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint
?x USAF Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
?x USAF Mc Donnell Douglas KC-10A Extender
?x US Army Boeing AH-64A Apache

United Kingdom
10x RAF MQ-9 Reaper Drones
8x RAF Panavia Tornado GR4
2x RAF Raytheon Sentinel R1
2x RAF Boeing E-3 Sentry AEW1
1x RAF Boeing RC-135 Airseeker
1x RAF Beechcraft Shadow R1
1x RAF Airbus A330MRTT Voyager KC2/3

Australia
6x RAAF Boeing F/A-18 Hornet
1x RAAF Boeing 737AEW&C Wedgetail
1x RAAF Airbus KC-30A
?x RAAF Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules
?x RAAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III

Bahrain
2x RBAF Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

Belgium
6x BAC Lockheed Martin F-16AM Fighting Falcon

Canada
6x RCAF Mc Donnell Douglas CF-18A Hornet
2x RCAF Lockheed CP-140 Aurora
1x RCAF Airbus CC-150 Polaris
?x RCAF Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules
?x RCAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III

Denmark
7x RDAF Lockheed Martin F-16AM Fighting Falcon

France
18x FN Dassualt Rafale M
8x FN Dassualt Super Entendard
2x FN Grumman E-2C Hawkeye
3-5x FN Helicopters (Deployed with Charles De Gaulle)
6x FAF Dassualt Rafale C
6x FAF Dassualt Mirage 2000
1x FN Breguet Atlantique II
1x FAF Boeing E-3 Sentry
1x FAF Boeing CF-135 Stratotanker

Italy
4x IAF Panavia Tornado IDS/ECR
1x IAF Boeing KC-767TT
2x IAF MQ-1 Predator

Jordan
20+ RJAF Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

Morocco
3x RMAF Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

Holland
8x RNLAF Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

Qatar
2x QEAF Dassualt Mirage 2000-5

Saudi Arabia
4x RSAF Mc Donnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
?x RSAF Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon

United Arab Emirates
4x UAEAF Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

Russia
14x RUAF Tu-22M Backfire
6x RUAF Tupolev Tu-95 Bear
5x RUAF Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack
12x RUAF Sukhoi Su-24M2
6x RUAF Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback
12x RUAF Sukhoi Su-25SM
4x RUN Sukhoi Su-30SM
1x RUAF Ilyshin Il-20
12x RA/RUAF Mil Mi-24P Hind
4x RA/RUAF Mil Mi-8

Iran
7x IAF Sukhoi Su-25
?x IAF Mc Donnell Douglas F-4 Phantom

Egypt
6x EAF Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

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Cornish-guy
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Cornish-guy » Sun Nov 22, 2015 8:12 pm

Nice looking party ramping up there :O as long as they all attack the same Boogy Man - ISIS/ISIL et all then Balance and harmony will be restored ;)

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Gary
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Gary » Mon Nov 23, 2015 1:03 pm

Cameron has offered the French the use of RAF Akrotiri to bomb Syria

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that Britain is going to let France use its RAF base, RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus for bombing raids against Islamic State in Syria.

RAF Akrotiri is a large Royal Air Force station. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a Sovereign Base Area. It is one of the few full-scale RAF stations left outside the United Kingdom.

Akrotiri has played a crucial role during Britain’s recent operations in the Middle East. During both major campaigns against Iraq, in 1991 and 2003, and also during the no-fly zone operations between, it operated as a staging post for British forces en route to the region.

A constant problem of airfields located outside the territory of the country whose forces are based there is that of overflight rights. The UK has a treaty with Cyprus that guarantees British access to Akrotiri in any circumstances. Under the treaty, the stations employ many locals and contribute to the local economy.
Info from UK Defence Journal
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T_J
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by T_J » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:38 pm

Quite funny to watch the Iranian military and press go into denial mode after the initial reports.

The Russian Tu-95s were recently caught on video launching cruise missiles over Iran. Remains of Kh-101 or Kh-555? Wreckage photographed near Shoush, Iran. After the initial reports the Iranian military and press immediately went into denial mode and claimed that it was a "homegrown aircraft shot down by the local forces as part of an exercise."

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AHVAZ, Nov. 21 (MNA) – Khuzestan’s deputy-governor for political and security affairs has confirmed reports of a drone crash in Shoush, in northern part of the province, southwest of Iran.

Qodratollah Dehqan told Mehr News local correspondent that a military drone had crashed in Shoush; “the remains of the drone were collected and

delivered to the IRGC Aerospace Force local office,” he added.

“Further examinations will determine the identity of the drone and probable causes of the crash; no casualties have been reported in the crash site,

fortunately,” Dehqan asserted, providing no further detail as to the identity of the drone.
http://en.mehrnews.com/news/112139/Unkn ... -Khuzestan

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Commander of Iran’s Air Defense said an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that crashed recently near the country’s southwestern city of Shoush was a homegrown aircraft shot down by the local forces as part of an exercise.

Brigadier General Farzad Esmaeili told reporters on Sunday that the drone was shot down for exercise and to test the preparation status.

His comments came following reports on Saturday that a military drone has crashed near the city of Shoush, the province of Khuzestan.

“The remains of the drone were collected and delivered to the IRGC Aerospace Force local office,” Qodratollah Dehqan, deputy governor of the province,

told the Mehr News Agency Saturday.

http://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2015/ ... -commander

An Iranian official has denied reports that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that had gone down in Iran’s southwestern province of Khuzestan came from abroad.

Governor General of Shush Reza Nejati told IRNA on Saturday that the Iranian drone had gone down on the outskirts of the city of Shush on Friday.

Nejati also dismissed as rumors reports that the UAV had been hit by a missile.

He added that according to investigations, the drone, which was on a training mission, had crashed due to technical faults.

The official noted that the crash caused no casualty or damage to property on the ground.

The official made the remarks after earlier reports claimed that a foreign surveillance drone crashed near Shush near the border with Iraq.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/11/21 ... tan-Nejati

Note same "577 marking" on wreckage found in Iran and Syria.

Iran

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Syria

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Harkins
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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Harkins » Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:29 am

Maybe be a bit early posting this as it's just 'breaking' but;
Turkish warplanes are reported to have shot down an unidentified military aircraft near the border with Syria.

A Turkish military official told the Reuters news agency that Turkish F-16s had fired on the jet after warning it that it was violating Turkish airspace.

Turkish media broadcast video footage of a plane crashing into mountains near the border with Hatay province.

Syrian and Russian military aircraft have been targeting jihadist militants and Western-backed rebels in the area.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34907983

I think they've shot down Syrian aircraft before and without much fuss. However, if this turns out to be a Russian aircraft it'll be interesting to see how the Russians respond. I expect that they'll deny it was one of theirs.

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Re: Syrian/Iraq air war and conflict

Post by Harkins » Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:35 am

Some video posted up by Turkish media. Looks very much like a Su-24 to me.



Sky News added some detail about the two crew ejecting;
Turkish F16s have shot down a jet which violated the country's airpsace, according to a military official.

The official added the nationality of the downed aircraft is not clear at this stage, and said the jet's pilot was warned before being shot down.

A government official told AFP: "We are trying to identify the nationality of the plane."

According to CNN-Turk and NTV, the plane was seen exploding in the air and the fireball fell on a Turkmen mountain on the Syrian side of the border.

The two pilots managed to eject from the aircraft and were seen landing with the help of parachutes, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.

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Turkish F-16 shoots down Russian SU-24 over border

Post by Stroudy » Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:01 am


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