Russian and Turkish combat planes have carried out their first joint airstrikes in Syria

The Aviationist

Four Su-24Ms, four Su-25s and one Su-34 bomber of the Russian Air Force along with four F-16 and four F-4 jets belonging to the Turkish Air Force have carried out their first joint strike in Syria on January 18.

This was an interesting mix of aircraft for a quite rare COMAO (Combined Air Operation) made of platforms able to perform CAS (Close Air Support), BAI (Battlefield Air Interdiction), S/DEAD (Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses) and Strike as well as Air Superiority and Aerial Escort.

The raid aimed at destroying 36 ground targets was previously cleared with Syrian authorities, said Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, the chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate in a briefing in Moscow. Considering that Turkey is a NATO member and regularly trains with other Western air forces, and that the Russian Aerospace Force jets employ completely different procedures and standards, it would be interesting to know something more about the preparation, coordination, and execution of such joint raid.

According to the first estimates provided by the Russian officer, the joint airstrikes near Al-Bab, in Aleppo province, “have been highly effective.”

The raid came amid a nationwide ceasefire in Syria which came into effect on December 30, 2016. The strikes were in support of Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield, launched on August 24, 2016 to clear the Syrian border town of Jarabulus and the surrounding area from Daesh terrorist group with the support of the FSA (Free Syria Army) and US-led coalition planes.

Al-Bab is one of Daesh’s last remaining strongholds near the Turkish border; the help of the Russians seems to be essential to prevent the Syrian Kurds from taking it.

The crisis between Moscow and Ankara that followed the downing of the Russian Air Force Su-24 by Turkey on November 24, 2015 now seems decades away.

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