Russia shows why it’s Top Gun over Syria

BOUNCING back from the loss of one of their own in November, Russian combat pilots in Syria are going to great lengths to demonstrate their prowess.

Russia shows why it’s Top Gun over Syria

BOUNCING back from the loss of one of their wingmen in November, Russian combat pilots in Syria are going to great lengths to demonstrate their prowess — with mobile cameras.

The high definition colour footage — taken via commercially available Go-Pro portable cameras mounted on the aircraft — is in stark contrast to the carefully vetted and often black-and-white and blurry imagery of coalition air strikes that makes its way past censors in the west.

It’s a practice that has won the approval of Russia’s Ministry of Defence: Clips of the footage are being circulated via the ministry’s official Twitter account.

But despite the dramatic look and feel, the frames do reveal much about Russian tactics.

For example: This footage shows a bomber dropping unguided bombs from a great height.

The chances of accurately hitting a target in that manner are very low.

#SYRIA #FOOTAGE Russian aircraft destroyed armored vehicles of terrorists https://t.co/YD5R1piyxK https://t.co/RSRPiJVsn0

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) January 19, 2016

The Su-24 ‘Fencer’ bomber is of the same type as was shot down by Turkish F-16 ‘Falcon’ fighter jets in November.

Russian news service TASS today declared Russian bombers have destroyed 579 ‘terrorist’ targets in Syria’s northwest during the past four days.

It caps off three months of intensive air strikes since the small force of combat aircraft was deployed in late September to help secure the position of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Bomb cam ... A video camera strapped to the wing of a Russian Su-24 bomber shows it about to take off with its load of bombs. Source: Russian MoD

Most targets have been among Syrian rebels — not Islamic State fighters.

As a result, Syrian troops have begun to recapture territory in the country’s north and centre.

“Over the past four days the planes of Russia’s air group in the Syrian Arab Republic made 157 sorties against 579 facilities of the terrorist infrastructure in the provinces of Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Homs, Hama, Raqqah and Latakia,” Tass quoted Russia’s Defense Ministry’s spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov as saying.

#SYRIA #FOOTAGE Russian aviation made strikes on the #ISIS oil storages https://t.co/qgrMi5nKEE https://t.co/PbEyBm7eyZ

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) January 19, 2016

He went on to say about 60 ‘Islamic State’ fighters were killed in air strikes in a hotly contested province.

“Russian Su-34 bombers delivered air strikes at terrorists’ strongholds in the vicinity of the settlement of Bgelia in the Dei ez-Zor province, where Islamic State militants massacred about 300 civilians to intimidate the local population,” he said.

International tensions inflamed by the shooting down of the Russian Su-24 has seen Coalition aircraft - including those of Australia - largely withdrawn from attacking Islamic State targets in Syria.

The positioning of a Russian anti-aircraft cruiser off Syria’s border with Turkey, the installation of an advanced long-range anti-aircraft system at its airfield at Latakia and Russian fighters flying close escort have dramatically ramped up the chances of another ‘misunderstanding’.