Air Strikes by VKS & SyAAF, 30 June 2017
Early hours saw quite some activity, including one (Russian) aircraft airborne over Jebel Kurdi, in NE Lattakia around 00.34; a MiG-29…
Early hours saw quite some activity, including one (Russian) aircraft airborne over Jebel Kurdi, in NE Lattakia around 00.34; a MiG-29 passing above southern Damascus around 00.37; another (Russian) aircraft orbiting Sarqib around 00.46; Hmemmem AB launching two fighter-bombers in southern direction at 00.53 and 00.57; as-Sien launching a Su-24 at 01.05; another Russian fighter-bomber passing Houla around 01.08; as-Sien launching another Su-24 at 01.10, and one more at 01.22 (all three Sukhois went in south-western direction); Nassiriyah launching a Su-24 in southern direction at 01.33; Hmemmem launching one aircraft at 02.02, and Tiyas launching one Su-24 towards south at 02.06.
With other words: VKS & SyAAF were busy bombing the Quneitra and Dera’a areas for much of the first two hours of the day.
At 09.35, a Su-22 passed above southern Damascus in southern direction. Tiyas then launched a Su-24 at 09.49, and another at 10.03 — both in northern direction. A MiG-29 passed southern Damascus at 10.59; Dmeyr dispatched one Su-22 in southern direction at 11.01, and another at 11.08. Another MiG-29 passed southern Damascus around 11.30 (obviously in reaction to Israeli air strikes on Assadist positions in Samadaniyah ash-Sharqiya), and then a VKS fighter-bomber passed Houla at 11.41, another at 11.55, and one more at 11.57. Meanwhile, Tiyas scrambled one Su-22 in northern direction at 11.47 (some ‘great coordination’ between the SyAAF and the VKS there: one is flying towards north, although the VKS base at Hmemmem is closer to the combat zone there; while other is flying towards south, although the SyAAF bases are closer to the combat zones there…).
Primary target for most of SyAAF’s air strikes was Dera’a:
…while this Su-22 was captured on a video while bombing Eastern Ghouta:
Almazza and Kheklekh ABs went into action at 12.13, when one of them dispatched a helicopter towards south, signalling the start of a period of relatively intensive operations. Two additional followed at 12.14 and 12.19. Tiyas then dispatched a Su-22 in eastern direction at 12.33, another helicopter launched from Almazza at 12.35, a Su-24 from Tiyas at 12.38, a Su-22 from Shayrat at 12.45, another Su-22 from Shayrat (towards south) at 12.47, Su-24 from Tiyas (towards south) at 12.50, Su-22 from Tiyas at 13.15, Su-22 from Shayrat at 13.48, MiG-23 from an-Nassiriyah at 13.49, Su-22 from Shayrat at 14.10, two helicopters from Almazza at 14.40 and 14.48, MiG-29 from Dmeyr at 14.49, Russian helicopter from Tiyas at 15.02, another SyAAF helicopter from Almazza at 15.06, a Su-22 from Shayrat at 15.09, a helicopter from Almazza at 15.09, and a Russian fighter-bomber from Hmemmem AB at 15.13.
Kweres continued the action later in the afternoon, by launching a L-39 from at 16.31, while another Russian fighter-bomber passed above Houla around 17.24. Once again, this went in southern direction, while the SyAAF then launched own fighter-bombers in northern and north-eastern direction: these included a MiG-23 from an-Nassiriyah at 17.46, and a Su-24 from Tiyas at 17.50. Kweres then launched a Su-22 in SE direction at 17.56, and Tiyas another Su-24 in NE direction at 18.03.
This was still not all: Shayrat got one Su-22 airborne at 18.08 (went in NE direction), a helicopter took off from Kweres at 18.12; another Su-22 launched from Shayrat at 18.51; Almazza sent one helicopter towards Dera’a at 19.10; Nassriyah one Su-22 towards SE (i.e. towards positions of the US-supported insurgents in SE Syria), at 20.46; Nassiriyah then launched one Su-24 in southern direction at 20.48; Almazza five helicopters towards south (at 20.50, 20.52, 20.53, 20.56, and 21.06), and Dmeyr dispatched a pair of MiG-29s to cover these, at 21.19. As if this was not enough, a VKS fighter-bomber also bombed a target in the Dera’a area, around 22.30.
Finally, up to four Russian fighter-bombers, perhaps also their A-50 AEW-aircraft, were airborne over the Jebel Turkomen area, around 23.30.
Overall: a very intensive day for the SyAAF. Combined with reports about Assadists shelling fields with crops in northern Hama, but also insurgent and HTS positions in western Aleppo, it’s once again showing the worth of the ‘cease-fire’ negotiated by the Russians and Turks. Talking about Russians, i.e. the VKS… no idea what are they actually doing these days. I’m only sure that Moscow’s threats to consider US and allied aircraft underway over Syria as ‘targets’ simply cannot be taken seriously. Things can change, of course — and a at a very short notice too — but the last week or so, the VKS in Syria is not operating in a fashion that would threaten any of US and/or allied aircraft underway over this country.
Totals
VKS
fighter-bombers: 16
helicopters: 1
UAVs: 9
recce: 1
SyAAF
L-39s: 1
helicopters: 14
MiG-21s: 0
MiG-23s: 2
MiG-29s: 6
Su-22s: 15
Su-24s: 12