Observation in real combat conditions changed the view of Pentagon generals about the Russian Aerospace Forces
From September 1 to 8, the Russian Navy and Russian Aerospace Forces conducted large-scale naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea near Syria. According to the Russian defense department, significant forces were involved in them: 26 warships, submarines and support vessels led by the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov with the support of a large anti-submarine ship"Severomorsk". 34 aircraft take to the skies, including Tu-160, Tu-142MK, Il-38, Su-33 and Su-30SM.
Despite the fact that the areas covered by the exercises were declared in advance dangerous for navigation and flights, NATO ships and aircraft closely monitored the maneuvers. In general, the Pentagon does not hide the fact that it records and analyzes every step Russian army in the Syrian conflict. For this purpose, two thousand US military specialists were sent to the combat zone. By the way, they use militants as laboratory mice, imposing certain operations in order to assess our opposition.
As the Pentagon mouthpiece The Defense News writes, Washington and Moscow are using Syria both as a testing ground for their latest weapons and as an opportunity to see up close the capabilities of a potential enemy. Both countries are now eagerly studying each other.
IN interview The Defense News Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, the outgoing head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said, “We certainly learned a lot about the combat airpower and Special Operations Forces capabilities that the Russians brought to Syria. It's very clear to me that Moscow was using Syria as a way to look at its troops and understand where they actually were. Not only from the point of view of weapon systems, but also from the position of assessing our soldiers and officers (who receive combat experience - author).”
Overseas specialists were especially interested in Russian Su-34 and Su-35 fighters. For the first time, the Americans observed our “drying” in real combat conditions, using not only ground services, but also the latest F-35B vehicles, including Israeli ones, which appeared in the area of responsibility of the US Central Command. It was extremely important for them to find out how effective the 5th generation tracking systems are for the operational environment in which Russian pilots fly on elite aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Jeffrey Harrigian called the F-35B a data vacuum cleaner, but acknowledged that the aircraft urgently needs to be improved, as do other US Air Force combat assets. According to the general, "software changes and other things need to be changed" to return the F-35B to unassailable air superiority as quickly as possible. They say that if this is done, the fighter will become the key to any future operation in which the Americans and Russians will be involved.
Well, in the meantime, the Yankees are again looking with hope at the F-22 fighters, which until recently were called “the most ancient.” The other day, a Raptor with the number 91−4006, sent for mothballing in 2012, urgently returned from a storage hangar. 6 years ago, a decision was made not to upgrade the car at all due to the incredible cost of the necessary upgrades. In fact, board 91-4006 was sent to “eternal parking.”
This was reported by the Pentagon portal Military.com, which called the unexpected return of the Raptor an incredibly expensive pleasure. The US Defense Department refused to disclose the costs of reactivation, repair and installation of new systems, so as not to shock taxpayers. If in 2012 the estimates made your head spin, now it’s even more so. To estimate the costs incurred by the Pentagon, the portal emphasized that “in 2009, the cost of the F-22 was about $150 million, but, according to some estimates, today it is closer to $250 million in current prices.” In short, we are talking about a forced measure.
Regarding Moscow's benefits from the conflict in Syria, General Harrigian said: “The Russian Armed Forces have benefited significantly from monitoring American troops. One key example was the case of the F-22, the US Air Force's premier air superiority fighter, which Russian specialists captured on high-quality video while flying and attacking targets.
In this regard, US Air Force Lt. Gen. Vera Lynn Jameson in January 2018 did not hide her disappointment that F-22 operations in Syria provided Russian experts with a unique opportunity to study in real time how the Raptor operates. She stated: “The skies over Iraq and Syria in particular have truly become a treasure trove for them. Our enemies are watching us, they are learning from us.”
The Americans are confident that this information will certainly help Russian budget save trillions of rubles, as Russian designers will make the most important adjustments to the Raptor analogue - the Su-57. For where Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Dynamics went hard and long route expensive trial and error, the P. O. Sukhoi Design Bureau will spend very little time and money.
The Russians owe special thanks to the Pentagon for valuable American equipment, namely the Tomahawk and AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles, which did not explode during attacks on Syrian government positions in April 2018 and were delivered to Russia for study. This opinion was published by the authoritative magazine Military Watch.
In addition, The Defense News notes “a clear pattern from Russian forces" It turns out that the Russians quickly make positive changes to their practices, including after American military operations. For overseas high-ranking generals (who have recently begun to be called cardinals of the Pentagon in the United States - author), this became an unpleasant revelation. After all, they perceived the US Army as a dynamic learning organization capable of quickly responding to new deployments. And here “some Ivans from Siberia” are also not slow to draw conclusions.
In particular, Pentagon defense planners noted a significant improvement and reduction in the cost of military logistics in the Russian army for the delivery of weapons, personnel and other cargo. The Americans are confident that our military “saw” how the specialized services of the US Army do it, and adapted valuable experience to their capabilities. This also changes their idea of Russians as a nation as a whole.
Be that as it may, General Jeffrey Harrigian is extremely happy that our troops are participating in the Syrian campaign, as they “provided an invaluable opportunity for the United States military to obtain valuable information about Moscow’s defense capabilities.”
On the one hand, the cardinals of the Pentagon today clear conscience They call the Russian Federation a state with one of the best and most knowledge-intensive military-industrial complexes in the world, thereby justifying with concrete facts the need to increase defense spending. But just recently, President Obama categorically did not believe in a strong Russian army and even sequestered United States military spending.
On the other hand, the overseas establishment has moved from a dangerous show of muscle to a policy of sanctions. This means that the pentagonal headquarters of the US Department of Defense has become much calmer. Congressmen and the White House no longer bombard the defense department with idiotic requests for Once again assess the consequences of the war with Russia. They now know for sure that this is not necessary.
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On February 7, American aircraft struck Syrian government forces, which were supported by fighters from Russian private military companies
Government troops in the area settlement Hisham attacked fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab groups supported by the United States. At the time of the attack, not only the Kurds, but also the Americans were in the positions. They requested air support - the advancing units were subjected to massive air and artillery fire. The Americans even used AC-130 fire support aircraft armed with cannons, bombs and missiles. The Kurds also fired mercilessly.
According to Kurdish commanders, they were trying to avoid a clash
One of the leaders of the DSS, General Hasan, told his version of events to The Washington Post. According to him, intelligence warned of an impending attack, and at 21:30 local time he contacted a representative of Russian forces in the city of Deir ez-Zor. He told his interlocutor that the Kurds would like to avoid a fight; They responded by saying that no battle was planned.
The American command attempted to avoid conflict with the forces of Damascus and Moscow
“Coalition representatives were in constant contact with their Russian counterparts before, during and after the attack. Representatives of the Russian side have assured that they will not attack coalition forces,” Thomas Veale, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, told CNN.
Nevertheless, the battle still took place
According to the Americans, the advancing units crossed the Euphrates River, which divides the zones of control, and advanced eight kilometers inland. “From 20 to 30 artillery and tank shells exploded 500 meters away, after which US-backed fighters and coalition forces launched air and artillery strikes against the aggressors,” Veal said. The US estimates that more than 100 advancing soldiers were killed.
Russia and the United States disagreed on what was happening
“The incident once again demonstrated that true goal the continuation of the illegal presence of US forces on Syrian territory is not the fight against the international terrorist group ISIS, but the seizure and retention under its control of economic assets belonging only to the Syrian Arab Republic,” the statement said. Russian ministry defense and reported 25 wounded Syrian militiamen. In the United States, in turn, they assumed that Assad’s troops wanted to seize the Koneko oil and gas fields, controlled by the Kurds, and therefore decided to attack. US Defense Secretary James Mattis believes that it is unfair to blame Russia for what happened. According to him, the Russian side clearly stated that its forces were not there, so it was unacceptable to demand that it stop the attackers: “You cannot calm down what you do not control.”
A US Army soldier tells how he was ambushed by Russian special forces:
“My name is Klein.
I am a US Army SOF (Special Operations Forces) soldier. Somehow in Syria we found ourselves in a normal mess. You might think that the Syrian troops created a mess for us - unfortunately, no. These were Russian fighters who had come from nowhere. This day became my second birthday.
In Syria we train all sorts of rabble who call themselves a “liberation army” or something like “free Syrian army“, in general, it doesn’t matter. In essence, all these bearded men have nothing in common with Syria. I still wonder, who did we train to fight?
In short, the main purpose of our presence in Syria was to put these mildly “ bad people"won the war. And America did everything possible for these victories.
Well, in general everything was quite good. We did our job, and the bearded men did theirs, until the Russians showed up. With the arrival, or rather the arrival, of Russian aviation, big problems began. The Russians ironed it so hard that even we got it.
And Russian special forces caused no less problems, eliminating field commanders and setting up ambushes. There were losses among American soldiers. Our government has made a lot of efforts to hide these losses.
We tried not to participate in direct clashes with government troops. Except in those cases when an order was received from above, and then only for sabotage or special operations. Mainly engaged in training. Our base was in the city of Aleppo, and we were there for almost a year. In short, my business trip was coming to an end, and I wanted to quickly get back to California.
So, according to available data, government troops were preparing the main attack on Aleppo. We knew this, but still we found ourselves together with the “fucking” opposition in a damn cauldron, and were cut off from the main forces. In short, we had to get out of this hell on our own.
We understood that US Army soldiers should under no circumstances be captured, otherwise many unnecessary problems would arise. Therefore, a group of bearded opposition and I decided to make a breakthrough.
The day didn't go well right away. Russian aviation unexpectedly launched powerful strikes on our area, followed by an attack by the Syrian army. We began to make our way through familiar territory, through broken houses and came to an abandoned military base. As far as I remember, until that day the building was empty, and this was the last passage through which one could get out of the encirclement.
But as soon as we approached the building, a wall of fire simply fell on us. At first it seemed to me that they were shooting from almost everywhere, we simply could not raise our heads. I instinctively jumped around the corner of some building, and through the roar of machine gun fire and the explosion of grenades, I heard a cry in Russian:
- Pindos, this is how we meet!
Our detachment dispersed behind rocks and small buildings, we did not want to fight with the Russians, and for a moment the battle died down. Probably, the Russians also thought about whether to fight with us or not. However, the surviving bearded men after the first attack decided to shoot at the building where the Russians were located, and the battle resumed with renewed vigor.
An underbarrel grenade launcher shell exploded near me, and if I had not dived between two stones, I would no longer be there. The Russians were hitting us harder and harder. I lay there and thought, were they waiting for us on purpose? How did they even get there? Intelligence, Special Forces? Who the hell are they?
Only two of ours were wounded, and almost all of the terrorists were killed. It was as if they were specially targeting only them, and they didn’t really touch us. After a slight hitch, we tried to regroup and leave the battle; the meeting with the Russians did not suit us at all.
The Syrians were already advancing from the rear, and we decided to bypass the damned base from the left. When we almost walked around the building, I received a greeting from a Russian sniper on my shoulder. From the pain, I instantly lost consciousness and deflated like a balloon. It’s good that my colleagues didn’t abandon me and pulled me out of this damned war.
As they explained to me at the hospital, it was a Russian sniper who simply decided to leave me a farewell greeting. We remembered very well how he killed bearded men right on the head, so there was no need to think that he missed.
Very painful: Russia’s asymmetric response to the United States in Syria
The West's hysteria towards Russia is caused by the effectiveness of Russian foreign policy
In the war between Russia and the Anglo-Saxons, all the antics of our enemies are determined by a certain political course, which under Vladimir Putin is consistently implemented by the Russian political leadership. This course is briefly expressed as the consistent displacement of the West from areas of fundamental importance to it. This repression is not a whim, not greed, but a vital necessity, so Russia will follow this course regardless of who leads it.
Since Russia's military power does not allow the use of military methods of pushing back, the West uses all others at its disposal - diplomacy, finance, special operations, propaganda. To comprehensively ensure measures to push back Russia, the Anglo-Saxon elite uses the principle provocations, where a crime is organized, which is attributed to Russia and, under the control of dependent pseudo-expert and information structures, statements about Russia’s guilt are spread. Based on this accusation, a number of aggressive strategies are put into effect, which, without provoking reasons, would not have a legitimate justification in the eyes of Western public opinion.
One of these crimes, organized for the purpose of informational and political support for a whole cascade of aggressive measures against Russia in all areas - from military to informational and economic, was poisoning Skripal and his daughter with gas, the production and delivery of which to British territory is attributed to Russia. Since Britain cannot really resist Russia in foreign policy, she chose the method of bribing international officials and putting pressure on international organizations through blackmail by the secret services of responsible employees of these structures. So Britain openly - due to the inability to do it covertly - took over the OPCW and now, with the help of this organization, carried out a commissioned “expertise” in which it was announced that the Skripals were poisoned with Novichok gas.
Since after the Skripals were poisoned in Salisbury, other people were poisoned in another city of Amesbury, who, unlike the Skripals, died, the OPCW issued a verdict that the gas was Novichok, but the batches that poisoned the Skripals and a certain Strezhdes with a roommate, they were different. Since what is called “Novichok” is produced by many other states, it is impossible to prove Russia’s direct participation. But such a task is not worth it. Britain considers the effect achieved; the necessary paper has been received from the OPCW. London stated that the OPCW completed the task with honor, and the high standards of the scientists of this organization were again proven - and so on and so forth.
It is clear that where the British praise the decision of international experts for objectivity, this means that the British organized everything as they needed and with these compliments they formally divert suspicion from the OPCW in carrying out a political order. No more is required - no Russian participation in the research will be allowed, as well as in the examination of Malaysian Boeing case.
The policy of Britain and the United States towards Russia is reminiscent of a champion boxing fight, where Russia is tied up in the ring, after which the Englishman kicks Russia in the groin - and the judge announces the victory of the English boxer. And the American boxer jumps out from behind the judge and hits the tied opponent in the back of the head several times, to which the judge does not react at all. After which the panel of judges gives the Englishman and the American a championship belt and declares them both world champions. And still tied up, the police take Russia into the locker room and, after removing the ropes, throw it out onto the street. Everyone in the world sees what the Anglo-Saxons are doing, but everyone supports what is happening because they are afraid.
Why do the Anglo-Saxons do this? After all, this is not rational. Everyone sees that they are provocateurs and scoundrels. They are despised and hated. Their own citizens do not trust them. They no longer care at all about appearing to be right. They behave like bandits who have occupied the village and are no longer trying to seem like decent gentlemen.
The fact is that Russia pursues its policy without regard to their provocations. She defeated the Wahhabis trained by the West in the Caucasus and snatched Crimea from under NATO’s nose. Broke the US scenario in Ukraine. Restores the EAEU. In Syria, Russia completely threw the Anglo-Saxon West off the pedestal that it had occupied there for the entire post-war 50 years. With its bombing of the barmalei, Russia broke the main ribs of rigidity of the geopolitical world contour built by the Americans. This is a catastrophe, the Anglo-Saxon world has nothing to respond to with nuclear Russia.
While Britain was showered with compliments on the OPCW experts it bought for the necessary act, Russia inflicted strongest bombing in Idlib, clearing the way for the Syrian army to destroy the last enclave of American fosterlings. And thus dealt a blow to the guts of the British political elite. After all, all the dancing around the Skripals and the subsequent sanctions are designed to prevent what Russia is now doing in Idlib. Not prevented. And this is a demonstration of the weakness of the British ruling class, which can only bite on the heels on the sly.
But the worst thing is that the actions in Idlib demonstrate US weakness. Trump is completely muzzled - not by his rivals, but by Russia. Exactly. Russia opened preparations for provoking a chemical attack in Idlib, which she announced to the whole world through the UN. And everyone heard it. With all the details, it includes the number of barrels and their color, as well as a description of the methods of delivering chlorine from Idlib and the places of their secret storage. All the Americans' trump cards are exposed. There is no point in the operation at all.
But there will be an operation. The match will take place in any weather. The United States has already outlined the places where it will launch missile and bomb attacks. The assault will be more decisive than the previous time. Preparations are underway as if the US is confident that a chemical attack will take place. Then, when they decide in the USA. Not in Damascus, but in Washington. That is, in general, all masks have been dropped, and the States are openly preparing aggression with provocation in a sovereign country, where they are openly in the status of an occupier.
And even if there is no chemical attack at all, the American strike will take place. The Russians bombed American protégés too much. They are too close to defeat, after which the reason for the Americans’ presence in Syria will disappear. How can this be allowed? A blow of prestige is necessary, and it will come even if the Sun falls to the ground and the Mississippi flows backward. Only there is no prestige visible.
The United States is increasingly moving from strategy to tactics. The Americans need a strike on Syria not because it will decide anything in the outcome of the campaign. It will not solve anything, because in order to change the course of the war, the United States needs to introduce its ground troops with all the ensuing consequences - the death of military and clash with Iran, Syria and Russia. And even with Turkey. With silently standing behind them China. It's a guaranteed defeat global consequences which are unpredictable.
The first thing that is visible is the collapse of NATO. A second Vietnam would crush not only the American president, but the United States itself. Therefore, the Americans will score a prestige goal and leave the match lost. They will strike Syria, where again Russian intelligence will identify the intended targets of the strike in advance, remove the Syrian leadership from there, and then again collect a bunch of unexploded Tomahawks from the fields of Idlib, which they will present as a gift to Russian missilemen so that they can further improve their missile defense methods.
Russia now has a difficult task in Idlib. It is not about repelling an American attack, but about so as not to beat her off too much. Trump is attacking not because he wants to defeat the Russians in Syria, but because he wants to defeat the globalists in America. And do this on the eve of the congressional elections. That is the reasons American attack on Syria are purely internal.
If Russia kicks Trump too hard in Syria, it risks drowning him, instead of somehow supporting his formidable image and helping him win. Simply because Trump is beneficial to Russia - he is too good at breaking everything on which American power was based in past decades. Helping to impeach such a guy is beyond Russia’s national interests. We cannot go too far in Syria now. Trump must come out of the shelling a fine man, not a fool and a defeatist.
That is, the fate of the United States is now in the hands of Russia. And Russia leads America according to its plan, lowering it slowly and in a controlled manner - although the United States remains the world hegemon and at the same time hits Russia very hard with sanctions. But Russia does not loosen its teeth on the throat of the States. At the same time, Berlin, supported by cheap gas from Moscow, is finishing off London in Europe.
It is very painful for the British and Americans to understand this. It hurts so much that no amount of collapse of the ruble and jokes in Salisbury with the fiddly letters of the local clerks from the OPCW, who were intimidated by the British intelligence services, can quench this pain. Russia responds asymmetrically - by continuing to do what caused such crazy and ineffective actions by London and Washington.
After the United States fires at Damascus, Russia and Syria will continue to squeeze Idlib and put the finishing touches on it. And after that they will build a “big one” the Chinese wall"around Deir ez-Zor and not a single mouse will escape from there, especially with oil. Using the example of Erdogan, we have already shown how easily caravans with oil are bombed, the export of which Russia does not want to allow from Syria. And the States will have to leave from there too. And the subject of negotiations with Russia will be to preserve the face of the United States in this story of yet another defeat.
In the meantime, Russia needs to try very hard to prevent Trump from hitting missiles where he doesn’t need them, without making him look like a weakling and a symbol of American shame. Russia must give Trump the opportunity to finish his important work. The United States will not have a second such president, just as Russia will not have a second Teddy Bear.
Provocations, lies and THREATS! Nebenzya STOPPED the West’s plans in Syria and warned the USA
Lavrov on the last stronghold of terrorists: this abscess needs to be eliminated
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While the Americans are staging provocations for the Russian military in Syria, foreign experts are assuring the world that Moscow has taken Syria from the West. “No one was expecting Russians here,” “Assad himself,” and he was “surprised.” Therefore, Russia will have to “pay” for Syria.
The United States is organizing dangerous provocations for the Russian military in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Ash Sharq al-Awsat. The tactics of half measures and double standards used by the United States in Syria cause serious concern in Russia, the channel reports the words of the minister.
Lavrov explained that American tactics consist of dividing terrorists into “bad” and “not so bad”, making politically motivated decisions related to the coalition and ignoring decisions of the UN Security Council.
“Either they will allegedly accidentally hit the Syrian armed forces, after which the ISIS will launch a counterattack, or they will incite other terrorists to strategically important points where the legitimate power of official Damascus has been restored, or they will organize deadly provocations against our military personnel.”
Lavrov also recalled that, according to international law, the presence of the US-led coalition in Syria is illegal because the government did not invite these forces.
The “provocations” that S. Lavrov mentioned, as well as Russia’s “serious concerns,” are accompanied by complaints from foreign experts that Moscow has taken Syria away from the West.
Australian expert Roger Shanahan from the Lowy Institute, a specialist in the Middle East, explained the change that came to Syria after the appearance of Russian military forces there.
His vision of the situation is as follows.
1. At the moment when armed forces The US-led coalition headed into Syria, it was already clear: the Assad regime was about to come to an end.
2. Assad, who committed “many crimes during civil war“, was ready to take any measures just to maintain power: “He even gave some disputed areas to his opponents so that they would not continue the offensive.”
3. Assad was not a supporter of peace. He relied on strength.
4. Iran constantly sent him “thousands of soldiers.” But Assad “requested Iran’s full participation in the war.” They refused: it was “very dangerous.”
5. If foreigners had not intervened, the end of Assad would have been near. But the United States announced the start of a war against terrorists. And the first thing they did was not Assad, but the “Islamic State” (IS, ISIS, banned in Russia). This is what saved B. Assad.
6. And then “Russia came to his aid.” “No one was expecting her here, probably even Assad himself was surprised,” the expert comments on the appearance of Russians in the country.
In response to the journalist’s remark, “Bashar al-Assad personally asked the Russian Federation to help in the fight against terrorism. It’s unlikely that he was surprised.” Roger Shanahan responded with a historical argument: “In the 60s, Castro asked Khrushchev to launch a nuclear strike on the United States, but no one did it.”
Russia in Syria needed to tell the United States that it had its own interests here: “After a series of failures in agreements with the leaders of Arab states, Russia could not leave Syria. She lost Hussein, whom she called a friend, she lost Gaddafi, who was friendly with Putin. Each time Russia protested, but no one listened to it. But now Moscow has begun to speak louder and more impressively. Now she doesn't just talk, she does it. This is big politics, in which there is no place for the pain and suffering of the Syrian people, this is the last thing on everyone’s mind.”
According to the expert, Russian planes caused great damage to Syria. Proof: “...everyone knows this.” But in this way, Russia “was able to regain its superpower status.”
Finally, Russia liberated almost all of Syria for Assad, and now “Assad is big man" If before the West wanted to kill Assad, now “his officials are negotiating with the American military.” The only threat to B. Assad, the expert believes, are the Kurds. That's why the US supports them. But the Kurds will also have to negotiate with Assad: UN-recognized Syria has no other president.
Result: Russia “turned out to be the first, it took Syria for itself.” And this is a defeat for Washington, which “will have to be recognized.”
Another analyst, Richard Frank, also from Australia (a military expert who analyzes international relations), went even further: he believes that Moscow will have to pay for Syria.
He believes that the actions of Russian military forces in Syria lead to casualties and destruction. “After Russian planes there are almost no buildings left in cities. Who will restore all this? Assad will not have enough of the oil that he is fighting for and that he already has. Russia will have to rebuild the country itself. This is not humanitarian aid, but tens of billions of dollars. This issue needs to be raised at the UN,” he said.
The military expert cited the city of Aleppo as a sad example. No one began to restore it. And if so, Russia “must pay” for what it did in the country:
“What about Aleppo? Has anyone started to restore it? No, Russia is busy with other things. She has so many problems of her own that she can’t offer anything other than war, but she must pay for what she did in Syria.”
Russian experts assess the operation in Syria differently. The very first thing that catches your eye is the specificity in the assessments.
The Moscow editorial office hosted a round table dedicated to the second anniversary of the start of the Russian military campaign in the Syrian Arab Republic. The counter-terrorism operation of Russian troops over two years has led to a radical change in the balance of power in Syria.
In particular, A.P. Leonkov, a military expert, one of the leaders of the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, with reference to data from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, recalled that over these two years over 30,000 combat missions were carried out and 90,000 strikes were carried out against militants. The contribution of the Russian Aerospace Forces is estimated at 55% of the destroyed equipment and infrastructure facilities of gangs.
In 2015, the main objects for the Russian military aviation there was the ISIS oil business. At that time, 70% of Syria was under the control of the “caliphate.” In 2015, over 2,500 tanks were destroyed for transporting “black gold,” which financed the terrorist group. Separately, explored objects were destroyed: camps, places where equipment was concentrated. In 2015, over 5,000 combat sorties were flown. The main load fell on the Su-25 and Su-24. New products were also used: Su-34 and Su-30SM. Air operations took place in the area of the cities of Hama, Homs, Aleppo and Daraa. ISIS oil facilities were also destroyed: over 300 oil refineries and stations were destroyed.
In 2016, the Russian group was changed as a result of rotation. Helicopters were added to it (Mi-24, Mi-35, Ka-52, Mi-28). The effectiveness of helicopters has been proven. They mainly tried to destroy equipment at night. That year, the main attacks were carried out on the military infrastructure of IS and Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in the Russian Federation). In 2016, the main task of the Aerospace Forces was the destruction of key fortified areas. Cities and entire territories were liberated.
Through the Syrian campaign, the expert notes, almost all types of aircraft that the Russian Federation has in service were “missed,” with the exception of MiG and Yak-130 aircraft. “Therefore, our VKS received that practical experience, that same combat training, which is very difficult to create in a training ground,” says Leonkov.
In general, the expert assessed the contribution of the Aerospace Forces to the operation in Syria as significant.
Russia is strong, and Syria is saved - this is the leitmotif of the assessments of all experts summing up the results of the two-year Syrian campaign.
Obviously, we note that the views of foreign and Russian experts are essentially opposite: in Russia they talk about the destruction of terrorists, while abroad they tend to accuse Moscow of almost invading Syria and achieving its own goals there, which Assad himself was supposedly incredibly surprised by. Hence the logic: the Russians will have to “pay” for Syria! After all, it was they who destroyed it: Russian planes caused great damage, “everyone knows this.” The American coalition is portrayed as the savior of Syria from terrorism and even the savior of Assad.
It will probably surprise no one (and Assad too) that the pages of American textbooks contain the latest