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New Russian Jet Spotted In Syria


Rick K

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Can't seem to get that link to go anywhere

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Moscow appears to have deployed an advanced new stealth fighter to its airbase in Syria, reports in Russian news media and online videos of the aircraft indicated on Thursday, in what analysts say could be a risky attempt to gain publicity and operational experience for the jet in one of the world's most tangled conflicts.

Their appearance comes at a fraught moment in the seven-year war, as the US and Russia occasionally scramble jets to intercept each other over Syria and pro-regime warplanes pound the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta despite protests from the UN. More than 330 people have been killed there since the bombing began on Sunday, according to reports.

The deployment of two Su-57 fighter aircraft, which were filmed landing at Russia's Khmeimim airbase along the Mediterranean coast, would represent the latest high-tech military system Russia has exhibited in Syria, a conflict that has already been used to demonstrate the prowess of Russian cruise missiles and combat helicopters.

Both the Kremlin and the Russian ministry of defence declined to comment on whether the fifth-generation Russian fighter jets, which are still in combat testing phases, had been deployed. Russian news agencies, including the respected RBC business daily, published reports on Thursday saying sources in the ministry of defence had confirmed the presence of the advanced fighter jets in Syria.

The military had previously announced it would begin testing the fighters in combat. They have been touted as a future rival to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, which the US uses in patrols over Syria.

Yuri Borisov, the deputy defence minister, said earlier in February: “We are buying Su-57 jets for test combat use. First stage state trials are over.â€

US-led forces wounded and killed dozens of Russian mercenaries and pro-Assad militiamen earlier this month, in a battle near the city of Deir ez-Zor in which US drones and warplanes directly targeted Russians fighting on the government side for the first time in the war.

Russia has regularly used the conflict as a testing ground for its latest military technology and has even credited it for an uptick in arms sales. The Su-57, the first operational Russian jet to use stealth technology, has been plagued by cost and time overruns, and analysts said there could be a business rationale behind the deployment.

“There is some operational merit in doing this, but there's also a publicity element,†said Douglas Barrie, a senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. He noted that a successful demonstration of the plane in Syria could assuage concerns of potential buyers such as the Indian government.

It is still unclear whether the aircraft could play any role in day-to-day operations. “We haven't seen it fire anything. We haven't seen it drop anything,†Barrie said.

Ruslan Pukhov, a defence analyst and the director of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said it could be risky to deploy the new jets to Syria.

“If I were the minister of defence, I probably wouldn't do it,†he said. “If you lose one of these planes, it could make for big problems. And what happens if the technology falls into the wrong hands?â€

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Quite surprisingly, Russia sent two of its Su-57 stealth jets to Syria. So, once again, Moscow will use the Syrian Air War as a test bed for its most advanced “hardwareâ€. But the deployment is both an opportunity and a risk.
Read more at https://theaviationist.com/2018/02/22/looks-like-russia-has-just-deployed-two-of-its-brand-new-su-57-stealth-jets-to-syria/#14tit4EV1lEq9Iui.99

 

Su-57-deploy-to-Syria.jpg

 

Deploying two new stealth jet in theater is a pretty smart move for diplomatic and marketing purposes: as already explained questions continue to surround the Su-57 program as a consequence of delays, engine problems and subsequent difficult export (last year the Indian Air Force reportedly demanded an end to the joint Indo-Russian stealth fighter project). Albeit rather symbolic, the deployment of a combat aircraft (still under development) is obviously also a huge risk.

First, there's a risk of being hit (on the ground or during a mission: the attack on Latakia airbase or the recent downing of a Su-25 are just reminders of what may happen over there) and second, there's a risk of leaking intelligence data to the enemy.

This is what we explained in a recent article about the reasons why U.S. and Russia are shadow-boxing over Syria:

USAF Lt. Col. Pickart's remarks about the Russians “deliberately testing or baiting us†are indicative of a force managing interactions to collect sensor, intelligence and capability “order of battleâ€. This intelligence is especially relevant from the current Syrian conflict as it affords both the Russians and the U.S. with the opportunity to 
, as well as learn doctrine. It is likely the incidents occurring now over Syria, and the intelligence gleaned from them, will be poured over in detail for years to come.

For instance, we have often explained how Raptors act as 
 over Syria, providing escort to strike packages into and out of the target area while gathering details about the enemy systems and spreading intelligence to other “networked†assets supporting the mission to improve the overall situational awareness. In fact, the F-22 pilot leverage advanced onboard sensors, as the AESA (
 radar, to collect valuable details about the enemy, performing ELINT-like missions and then sharing the “picture†with attack planes, command and control assets, as well as Airborne Early Warning aircraft.

In fact, even though it's safe to assume that the stealth prototype will not use their radar and that the Russians will escort the Su-57s with Su-30/35 Flanker derivatives during their trips over Syria in order to prevent the U.S. spyplanes from being able to â€œcharacterize†the Su-57's signature at specific wavelengths as reportedly done by the Russians with the U.S. F-22s, it's safe to assume the U.S. and NATO will put in place a significant effort to gather any little detail about the performance and operational capabilities of the new Russian stealth jet.

By the way, before you ask, the risk of confrontation with their U.S. stealth counterparts has not been mentioned, since it seems quite unlikely at the moment..

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Guest The Southern Bandit

I deleted my post , not because of your statement but because I figured

someone would point out that the Russian jets are being flown by Syrian

pilots.  Your post demonstrates who you are and I will not dignify it with a response.

If you like, we are mostly gentlemen here and I'm glad you deleted that ugly provocative post that fired me up, it was going nowhere ... I'm sorry if I offended you, never saw you post that way before and I reacted.

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Guest Smitty44

Funny how it has what appear to be attributes of a stealthy aircraft like the overall shape and the profile of the intakes.  Yet it has two giant exposed engines sticking right out of the back with nothing done to cover up it's heat signature. That thing couldn't even hide from a Stinger

Edited by Smitty44
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Stealth is a brans name for technological development . It is a smart marketing trick,, that is being used again and again, for example Mazda's SKYACTIV moniker. Just a logo that become a popular cult to follow.

In other words, do you guys believe that carbon tax will decrease the global warming?

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Guest Smitty44

Stealth is a brans name for technological development . It is a smart marketing trick,, that is being used again and again, for example Mazda's SKYACTIV moniker. Just a logo that become a popular cult to follow.

In other words, do you guys believe that carbon tax will decrease the global warming?

 

Ya let's not go there. Pretty sure we have achieved some measure of it here. Dang even the A-10 is more protected from shoulder launched AA rockets than that thing.

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If you like, we are mostly gentlemen here and I'm glad you deleted that ugly provocative post that fired me up, it was going nowhere ... I'm sorry if I offended you, never saw you post that way before and I reacted.

 

To be clear, I said nothing ugly or provocative and

never have on this forum .

Edited by mmaben
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Isn't SKYACTIV the brand name for their later generation direct injected constant variable transmission engines. Fuel efficient and low emission blah blah..all the manufactures are doing it..we've had our first experience with one from Honda..when the check engine light goes on you take it to the mechanic and they decipher the code..inspect the area it indicates, then the surrounding area, then they replace the sensors, then the fuel system, then the ecu, then the fuel rail, the leads including the electronic coil ignition system, then the radiator, cams, crank case, air conditioning system, air induction and filter and lastly the chassis and body..then they give it back to you with the light still on and say ‘we can't figure out what's wrong with it and we're only charging for the time not parts which is $13950'

Edited by hamfists nz
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