Russian Flanker and SU-3X Thread: Videos, Pictures, News, Views

thunderchief

thunderchief

Senior Member
Another picture of supposed Su-30 (with Su-25) in Syria . Take with grain of salt .

syria-latakia-airbase-satellite-sept-20-092115-b.jpg
 
plawolf

plawolf

Lieutenant General
thunderchief said:
Another picture of supposed Su-30 (with Su-25) in Syria . Take with grain of salt .

syria-latakia-airbase-satellite-sept-20-092115-b.jpg
Click to expand...

If that picture is genuine, then that's some serious killwear the Russians are deploying.

That big wing of Su25s and Mi24s are going to be especially punishing for anything they are set against.

That is way overkill for mere base security, and I am wondering if the Russians are thinking of pulling the same trick as the coalition in Libya but effectively providing the friendly ground forces with an air force.

With some SpecOp units operating as forward observers and spotters as well as provide communication and co-ordination assistance, the Russians could potentially massively boost the combat effectiveness of Assad's forces while risking minimal themselves.

However, to do that, the Russians are going to need even more jets, and soon they will be hitting the upper limit on what that base can easily accommodate.
 
Blitzo

Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
plawolf said:
If that picture is genuine, then that's some serious killwear the Russians are deploying.

That big wing of Su25s and Mi24s are going to be especially punishing for anything they are set against.

That is way overkill for mere base security, and I am wondering if the Russians are thinking of pulling the same trick as the coalition in Libya but effectively providing the friendly ground forces with an air force.

With some SpecOp units operating as forward observers and spotters as well as provide communication and co-ordination assistance, the Russians could potentially massively boost the combat effectiveness of Assad's forces while risking minimal themselves.

However, to do that, the Russians are going to need even more jets, and soon they will be hitting the upper limit on what that base can easily accommodate.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm curious as to how many jets a base like that can operate in a sustainable way... especially when considering they'll probably need airlifted resupplies (munitions mostly) from Russia.

The Su-25 heavy presence also makes me wonder if they're actually intending to conduct lower flying CAS rather than higher flying precision bombing say from Su-30SMs. I'm sure the VVS has PGMs their Su-25s could use, but I imagine they're in for a risk if they equip the Su-25s with mostly FFARs.
 
thunderchief

thunderchief

Senior Member
Su-25/Mi-24 combo could be shoot in the arm for Syrian Air Force, similar to aircraft that Iraqi Air Force got recently. On the other hand Su-30 SM are most likely for base security, along with SAMs , to discourage potential airstrikes , especially from Israelis. As such, I doubt we would see them in action, unless things become too dire . On the other hand, if the picture is genuine Su-25 is bound to appear in combat soon.
 
plawolf

plawolf

Lieutenant General
Bltizo said:
Yeah, I'm curious as to how many jets a base like that can operate in a sustainable way... especially when considering they'll probably need airlifted resupplies (munitions mostly) from Russia.

The Su-25 heavy presence also makes me wonder if they're actually intending to conduct lower flying CAS rather than higher flying precision bombing say from Su-30SMs. I'm sure the VVS has PGMs their Su-25s could use, but I imagine they're in for a risk if they equip the Su-25s with mostly FFARs.
Click to expand...

I think they only had upgraded around 30 to SM standard, so I'm not entirely sure what proportion of their fleet can carry PGMs.

The other problem is that barring powered weapons, the smallest PGMS the Russians have are 500lb LGB beasties IIRC. Probably not the best tool to use for CAS, and also the little Su25 will probably not be able to carry that many.

Considering Russian tac air were using Su25s with mostly rockets and guns against Georgian forces, who has far better air defences compare to ISIS, I think rockets and guns would be the primary weapons again (which at least would ease the logistical burden as I', sure the Syrian air force will have plenty of that stuff left).

If the Russians wanted to do a lot of PGM work, I would have through Su34s would have been preferred to Su30s.

Deploying Su25s would suggest to me the Russians are ready to get down and dirty with the fight.

The Su25 is a tough little bird, and unless ISIS has been secretly stashing modern MANPADs and has operational Syria army SAMs, which I doubt, they should be able to take most of what ISIS can throw up at them.

It is a bit of a shame the PLAAF has zero interest in this scrap, as it is far better equipped and provisioned to conduct a comprehensive air campaign compared to the Russians.

I would have also said ISIS seems like the kind of unambiguous bad guys that no one could reasonable object to China bombing, but given the American and European attitude to these Russian deployments, it would seem they could find a problem with someone else joining the fight against even a foe as evil and universally hated as ISIS. :rolleyese:
 
Jeff Head

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Guys...this is getting further and further afield and OT.

This is the Russian Flanker Thread.

We have a separate, dedicate thread for the ISIS topic. Take the talk related to the Russian ISIS campaign there, particularly as it relates to numerous non-Flanker aircraft.

Thanks.

DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MODERATION
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top