Air Strikes by VKS & SyAAF, 12 May 2017

The Russians continued their activity with two additional take-offs from Hmememm at 00.23 and 00.24, before Hama launched one L-39 at…

The Russians continued their activity with two additional take-offs from Hmememm at 00.23 and 00.24, before Hama launched one L-39 at 00.31, and a helicopter at 01.27. Very unusual was a take-off of a single Su-24 at 03.04hrs from Tiyas AB, followed by one L-39 from Kweres, a minute later.

Further flying followed at ‘office hours’, but was anything than ‘intensive’: one Su-22 from Shayrat at 08.20, another at 09.22; one Russian aircraft from Hmemmem AB at 10.15, a Su-24 from Tiyas at 11.18, another Russian at 11.23, one more Su-24 from Tiyas at 11.37; then a VKS fighter-bomber from Hmemmem at 1206, and two additional Su-24 from Tiyas at 13.06 and 13.24.

At 13.26, the VKS scrambled three fighter-bombers from Hmemmem, while Shayrat launched one helicopter at 13.36, and then a Su-22 at 13.55. The latter bombed Lataminah, which was then hit by a Su-22 that apparently took off from Nayrab AB, at 14.10. Tiyas launched its fifth Su-24 at 14.30, while Kweres sent a single L-39 into an attack on the Daesh, at 15.33.

The Russians started their next sortie at 16.15, followed by another at 16.31; Shayrat then scrambled one Su-22 at 16.40, Tiyas another at 17.02, and the VKS ended that afternoon by a single take-off at 17.55.

Curiously, neither the VKS nor the SyAAF seem to have reacted to the Daesh’s assault of regime’s positions in Wadi al-Adhib area, along the road connecting Ithriya with Khan Nassir (i.e. the vital supply line for all of regime, Russian and IRGC units in Aleppo area). Reportedly, the regime repelled this attack, but lost 1 T-72 and 9 KIA in the process.

Evening operations began only at 19.51, when a single Su-24 was launched from Tiyas AB: this flew away in northern direction, though its target remains unknown. Flying remained rather sporadic for the next few hours, but at 22.01 Tiyas launched one Su-24, followed by one L-39 from Hama at 22.13, and another from Nayrab, at 22.24. Some of air strikes reportedly targeted the US-supported FSyA-units in south-eastern Syria, activelly involved in fighting the Daesh.

A single L-39 that launched from Kweres at 22.44, and a VKS fighter-bomber that launched from Hmemmem at 22.59, seem to have bombed the Daesh. The day ended with the Russians scrambling one fighter-bomber at 23.50, and the SyAAF one L-39 from Hama at 23.55.

Totals

VKS

fighter-bombers: 19

helicopters: ?

UAVs: 3

recce: 0

SyAAF

helicopters: 2

L-39s: 7

MiG-21s: 0

MiG-23s: 0

Su-22s: 8

Su-24s: 8