I was following this story all day yesterday - a Turkish Air Force RF-4E reconnaissance plane was shot down 12.8 kilometers (eight miles) off the Syrian coast, southwest of Samandag district. The Turkish naval commander confirmed that the plane went down and announced that both pilots had been rescued - they are in good health.
Analysis:
A Turkish RF-4 Phantom was shotdown by Syrian forces. Whether or not the aircraft was over Syrian airspace is irrelevant. What is significant is the robust nature of Syria's air defences, and no hesitation in using them. Syria openly admitted responsibility for the shoot down.
This is an obvious message to the West; Turkey is a member of NATO, after all.
The RF-4E is a tactical reconnaissance variant of the legendary McDonnell Douglas twin-engine all-weather long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
All I know is the stories my Dad told me about The Turkish Brigade in Korea and what a good job they did on the Chicoms & NKA. Syria is riding for a fall.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Turks were expecting trouble from Syrian air defenses. I wonder how well equipped the Turkish AF is to penetrate Syrian air defenses. The Israelis don't seem to have much of a problem in penetrating Syrian airspace.
ReplyDeleteDont try the article 5 thing. A turkish f5 got what it asked for.
ReplyDeleteBut ask yourself this, if the Turkish airforce has such a modern F16 airforce, why does it send up an old F5, or was it a QF5?
Turkey is not the secular state of Attaturk. It is now an Islamist regime that turned against its Israeli allies and got into bed with Iran and Palestinians. It has been purging secular officers and has been a dubious partner in the coalition.
If you ask me, an Islamist state is trying to start a war with the last remaining secular muslim countries. Dont be a useful idiot.
Thats F4 of course, not F5.
ReplyDeleteKeyboard is a cramped laptop, but the message is the same
The plane is said to be the RF-4 model, the "R" being for reconnaissance. From today's news: "The Syrian Armed Forces made a statement carried by the official Syrian Arab News Agency crediting its antiaircraft gunners with downing an unidentified aircraft flying at “very low altitude and at high speed” over Syria's territorial waters less than a mile offshore, causing it to crash into the sea near the village of Om al-Tuyour. The statement went on to claim that the aircraft was found to be a “Turkish military plane that entered Syrian airspace and was dealt with according to laws observed in such cases.” The downing occured at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries due to Turkish support for Syrian rebels opposed to the Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus. On 24 June, wreckage of the F-4 was located in Syrian waters, but the crew had not been found."
ReplyDeleteOne wonders if the Phantom was one of those overhauled and modified by Israeli Aircraft Industries in the 90s to the Phantom 2000 model.
It may have been an RF4. It may have been a QF4. We just dont know.
ReplyDeleteWhat we can surmize, it Turkey wants to start trouble.
Interesting news today, Putin is visiting Israel. Can we see the secular states of Israel & Syria aligned? Obama is no friend of Israel, can be see Israel turning to Russia - at least until Obama is replaced??