Syrian takeoff of Russian aviation
Russia continues to be active in the framework of opposition to the “Islamic State” (the activities of the Islamic State are prohibited on the territory of Russia). According to the beginning of November, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation began to interact with the moderate Syrian opposition, which affected the effectiveness and accuracy of attacks on terrorists. The oppositionists transmitted to VKS the coordinates of two dozen objects where they found the militants of the IG.
HQS 30.09 Russia. 2015 of the year inflicted the first air strikes on the positions of the “Islamic State” (IG) in Syria in response to a request from the President of that country, Bashar al-Assad, which does not contradict international law. It permits the use of force on the territory of a foreign state either by decision of the UN Security Council, either in self-defense, or at the request of the authorities of that state.
As of 30 aviation A group of Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria completed an average of 43 sorties per day. “A month has passed since the beginning of the operations of the Russian air group in the ATS, and it is time to take stock. In just a month, our planes completed 1391 sorties, destroying 1623 terrorist targets, ”said Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov, chief of the main operations department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
According to him, this number includes 249 various command and control centers and communications centers, 51 training camp for terrorists, 35 factories and workshops, where terrorists filled hellish vehicles with explosives, 131 ammunition and fuel depot, and 371 strong point and fortified hub and 786 field camps and various bases. For comparison: Coalition Air Force more than a year carried out about 2770 combat missions.
The peak of the combat activity of the Russian aviation group in Syria fell on 12. 10. 2015 of the year, when 88 sorties were flown within 24 hours and attacks on IG 86 objects were made. Almost three sorties per day on average for one strike aircraft of the aviation group.
After the peak of combat activity 12. 10. 2015, there has been a slight decrease in flight intensity. Between 13 and 18. 10. The 2015 of the year was carried out daily from 33 to 41 sorties, which led some Western media to doubt the ability of the Russian aviation group in Syria to maintain a high intensity of flights due to inadequate logistics and deterioration of the condition of the aircraft.
The Russian defense ministry in a press release from 28. 10. 2015 of the year stated: “The number of combat sorties has increased, this is due to an increase in the number of militants' terrorist infrastructure targets that have been explored and confirmed through various channels. This fact is a convincing response to various impersonal sources in certain foreign media, allowing themselves to make unsubstantiated statements about the allegedly insufficient technical integrity of Russian aircraft. Russian aircraft at Khmeimim airbase are all-weather, all support services of the air crew of the Russian Aerospace Force in Syria are working smoothly, reliably and efficiently.
Analyzing the work methods of our foreign colleagues on this topic and not waiting for their next throw, we inform you: we have sufficient supplies of materials, fuel and lubricants, ammunition and everything necessary for effective combat operations. ”
AND POWER, AND ACCURACY
The combat personnel of the aviation group OTA VKS of Russia, based at the Khmeimim airbase (Latakia province), includes about 34 combat aircraft: 12 Su-24М, 12 Su-25, 6 Su-34М. Percussion tasks are performed by Su-4M, Su-30 and Su-24, the task of combat support for air defense of the attack groups is performed by Su-25СМ.
The Su-34 front-line bomber is one of the “combat horses” of the Syrian operation, produced by Sukhoi, which is part of the United Aircraft Building Corporation (UAC). Production of aircraft is carried out in Novosibirsk at the Plant. Chkalov. On October 28, the Sukhoi Company transferred the next batch of Su-34 to the Russian Space Forces, provided for by the 2015 State Defense Order of the year. The aircraft took off from the airfield of the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named. V.P. Chkalov and headed to the place of their deployment. The “presentation” of Su-34 in Syria allows Novosibirsk residents to count on replenishing their portfolio of foreign contracts. This year, the plant will produce 16 combat aircraft and, judging by the statement of the vice-governor of the Novosibirsk region Sergey Semy, will increase volumes in the near future. “Our enterprises today are working without disruption. Plans for the next year are a small relative increase in comparable estimates at the level of 3 – 4%, ”said Sergey Syomka.
Today, the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant operates with maximum efficiency. A state contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the supply of Su-34 video conferencing of the Russian Federation to 2020 ensures its stable load for the coming years. Last year, the VKS of Russia received 18 combat vehicles, which is two more than those planned by the State Defense Order, according to the Sukhoi company website. By the end of this year, the aerospace forces (VKS) of Russia will receive two batches (which will be about 10 units) of the Su-34 multi-purpose front bomber, Interfax reported, citing a source in the defense-industrial complex.
The main method of combat use of the Su-24M and Su-34 is bombing from horizontal flight from altitudes around 5000 m outside the zone of destruction of military air defense weapons, primarily ZSU and MANPADS. Su-25 carries out combat use and diving, based on the video information on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
The Su-30CM heavy multipurpose fighter-bomber is a “serial upgraded” aircraft for the Russian VKS, which was initially shipped to India under the Su-30MKI brand. The 2015 KLA and Irkutsk Aviation Plant are planning to supply the Ministry of Defense 27 machines. In Syria, the Su-30CM is a bit - about four units, which is due to the concept of covering the aerial bombers, even though the IG does not have aircraft. However, no one can guarantee the appearance of a "crazy" terrorist-fighter. Or some of the states will decide to restrain the activity of the Russian Aerospace Force in Syria. Moreover, the Su-30CM itself is a bomber, but the main role in the Syrian operation is still likely to be a cover. It was the crew of the Su-30SM that made the first “contact” with an American aircraft in the sky of Syria. October 10 “when advancing to a given area, the radiation warning system with which all of our aircraft are equipped recorded radiation from an unknown flying object. Our fighter turned and flew at a distance of about two or three kilometers not to scare someone, but to identify the object and its affiliation. After that, the Russian Su-30CM returned to the militant group to carry out the planned task, ”said Igor Konashenkov, an official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, to journalists. According to him, the meeting of the aircraft occurred when a group of Russian cars under the guise of a Su-30SM fighter plane was carrying out a combat mission to destroy one of the objects of the IG terrorist group in the province of Aleppo.
In general, it should be noted that our industry plays a significant role in updating the equipment of the Russian army - for example, over the past three to four years, more than 200 new aircraft, the Yak-130, Su-30СМ, Su-34 and Su-35С, were supplied to the troops.
In peak of Russia, Western experts note that the Coalition's air force has used more than 20 000 units of aviation weapons of destruction (TSA) for the year since the start of the operation in Iraq and Syria, the proportion of high-precision weapons (WTO) amounted to 99%, and the Russians use “stupid” bombs with low accuracy of combat use, creating great destruction and accompanied by great casualties.
OFAB-100 and OFAB-200 unguided free-falling bombs, RBC-500-SPBE-D cluster, thermobaric ODAB-500PMB and concrete-blocking BETAB-500 M62 are the prevailing share of the VKS of Russia used by the TSA of Russia. However, in most Western media, although there is a criticism of the accuracy indicators of the combat use of unguided bombs, no specific facts are given.
In fact, this indicates that the improvement of onboard weapons control systems (FCS) of front-line bombers in terms of the use of unguided bombs brought positive results. The deviation when using uncontrollable bombs from the horizon from heights of about 5000 m with Su-34 is 25 – 50 m, which for an 250 kg stockpile means almost guaranteed target destruction. The increased capabilities of the Russian videoconferencing with regard to the use of the WTO, for example, X-25L laser guided radar, and especially the CAB-500С with GLONASS satellite guidance, are noted. Until now, in the West, it was believed that the backlog of Russia in the creation of modern models of the WTO, primarily with satellite guidance such as the American JDAM program, is more than 20 years.
COALITION IS NOT AN EXAMPLE
It is clear that the share of the use of new WTO models in Syria compared to unmanaged TSA is small, but the very fact of their presence and successful combat use from modernized and new Su-34-type air complexes indicates not only a rather impressive manifestation of the new Russian military potential conditions, but also about success in efforts to increase the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in recent years - including the level of training of pilots.
Despite all the criticism, the Russian VKS showed their ability to maintain a high intensity of combat missions throughout the month, high reliability and accuracy of combat use, unlike the Coalition, which did not achieve visible results in the fight against ISIS for more than a year.
Coalition of countries led by the US with 23. 09. 2014 strikes positions (IS) in Syria bypassing the UN Security Council and does not coordinate with the Syrian authorities. From the first days of the air operation in Syria, together with the United States, the air forces of Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates took part in combat missions. The Air Force of Canada for the first time attacked the positions of the IG in Syria 08. 04. 2015, Turkey - 24. 07. 2015 of the Year, Australia - 16. 09. 2015 of the Year, France - 27. 09. 2015 of the year.
As of 26. 10. From the beginning of the air operation against the IG 2015, combat missions, including 7802 in Iraq and 5032 in Syria, were executed by the US Air Force and Coalition countries 2770 of the year. Prior to the start of the air operation, the 30 airspace of Russia 09. 2015 of the Year The Coalition made 7184 combat sorties, including 4604 in Iraq and 2580 in Syria, an average of 13 daily sorties in Iraq and 8 in Syria. The intensity of the Coalition flights with the start of the air operation of the Russian Aerospace Force in Syria as of 26. 10. 2015 of the year decreased from 8 to 3,6 departure daily. For comparison: in 1991, for the 42 day of the Desert Storm operation in Iraq, the USAF and Coalition countries carried out 48 224 combat sorties, or 1100 sorties per day!
In 2003, for the 31 day, Operation Freedom for Iraq, the USAF and Coalition countries carried out 800 flights per day. In 1999, the operation in Kosovo - 138 departures, in 2001, in Afghanistan, according to the Taliban grouping - 86 departures.
The ratio of the number of combat sorties of the US Air Force and the Air Force of the Coalition countries in air operations as of 6. 10. The 2015 of the Year is presented on the Pentagon website: a total of 7323 combat sorties have been made, including 4701 in Iraq and 2622 in Syria. The US Air Force carried out 5718 combat missions (78,1%), including 3231 (68,7%) in Iraq and 2487 (94,6%) in Syria. The rest of the Coalition's Air Force carried out 1605 combat missions (21,9%), including 1470 (31,3) in Iraq and only 135 (5,4%) in Syria. The low intensity of the sorties raises the question of the Coalition’s insufficient interest in effectively fighting the IS.
Of the widely advertised Coalition in the number of more than 60 countries supporting US military operations against ISIS on the territory of Syria, the air forces of eight countries are directly taking part in combat operations to destroy targets and IS personnel. For example, the Canadian Air Force for the first time attacked IG positions in Syria 08. 04. 2015 of the year. In the future, two combat sorties of CF-18 fighters on the territory of Syria were made once a month: 20. 05. 2015 of the year, 09. 06. 2015 of the year and 30. 07. 2015 of the year. A total of eight sorties. With 30. 07. 2015, the sorties of the Canadian Air Force through Syria were not carried out.
Moreover, after winning 19. 10. 2015 of the year in the parliamentary elections in Canada, the opposition has announced the termination of the participation of the Air Force of Canada in operations in Iraq and Syria since March 2016. French Air Force first strike on the IG in Syria dealt 27. 09. 2015 of the year, and the second only 19. 10. 2015 of the year.
The Coalition Air Force did not achieve significant success on the territory of Syria for more than a year of the air operation due to its unwillingness to interact with the Syrian government forces and the absence of other effective forces capable of effectively countering the IS.
The striking of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria is not an end in itself; they are carried out primarily with the aim of defeating the troops and IG facilities to create conditions for the advancement of Syrian government troops and the liberation of their territory. Successes in advancing Syrian government forces and the liberation of a number of areas and settlements are obvious. Even Western experts admit that this has become possible in many respects after effective combat operations of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
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