You might exhibit some kind of teacher’s syndrome but that doesn’t work on me.. Let me sum this whole argument up:

1. A video with four Su-24Ms and Il-78 over Homs gets posted by TR1 [response #80]
2. You imply that the video is not from Syria, but from some military parade, bcs the birds are allegedly too low [response #86]
3. My reply is that the vid looks legit [response #88]
4. Your reply is that the tree top at the end of the vid proves your point [response #89]
5. A questions comes what exactly is wrong with the tree top and how does that prove that the vid is not from Syria [response #91]
6. Instead of replying to this simple question you start some smarta$$ lectures which no one cares about [response #92]
7. My repeated question [response #93]
8. More smarta$$ lectures from you [response #94]
9. My repeated question [response #105]
10. Even more smarta$$ lectures from you, not explaining your point, at all… [response #129]
11. The satellite pic proves that there are, indeed, Su-24s in Syria and that the vid was most likely legit [response #163]
12. My repeated question [response #165]
13. Your grasping at straws [responses #182 and #194]

You have not been patient enough.. it was me who was patient, in the first place.. you still haven’t explained your claim from the response #86, were proven wrong in the meantime but instead of admiting that you continue to play a smarta$$.. you can do that with your kids, I don’t mind, but it’s adults you’re dealing with on this forum.. so act like one..

To put some sense in this bickering, I had read on a non-english newspaper that Syria has closed its own aerospace to civilian flight for one day to allow the low pass of those formations over Homs in order to raise morale of population.
Now, I can’t find the news anymore on the site, i’ll try further but if someone other can crosscheck the fact it would explain the apparent oddity of such a move.

I’m guessing:

primary targets are Nusra, Islamic Front, Jaish al Fatah, Army of Conquest

secondary targets are FSA, Division 30, Southern Front

tertiary targets are ISIS

Well, for targeting the secondary ones you would need rather a microscope than satellites or UAV.:rolleyes:

Yeh, Blah is all we can say today pretty much.

I’m also thinking what the hell was Putin thinking 12 months ago! Was he giving up on Assad and Syria all together, or was he planning this move knowing nothing much will change despite USAF and coalition bombing for a year, so he will wait for the right moment to step in and look good on the news 🙂

Anyhow,

I’m waiting to hear now about those Mig-29M2 finally coming. Supposedly they were built and ready for delivery couple years ago for SAAF and were even considered to be sold to Serbian AF.Not sure if that was disputed later.

IMHO they had to wait until the Iran nuclear deal was concluded, just note how involvement started up slowly and ramped up after it survived US Congress votes.
Ukraine crisis also messed up things great time, sparkling irrationalistic (N.B. it is not the same than irrational) game of action and reaction between Russia and NATO: they closed Bulgarian airspace and so they had to find a longer and more risky route.

In every case Russia can capitalize now the fact it can have friends (few) and antagonists (many) but no one is in such bad terms or so powerful to refuse to deal with or ignore what it say .
So they can just put themselves as a middleman and strike separate deals with all the involved parties, even if they are sworn enemies between one’s another.

I don’t get this line of thought: how the same considerations doesn’t apply to members of the international coalition also?

Also because most of them have nothing to do with Syria, ME and have not any internal terroristic problem with wahabi scums.
Russia is near, has a long time friendship with Syria and has a enormously great resilience to hardship, so how can be possibly be afraid of something others, far smaller and less armed are?

Look like Su-24

Make sense, given that also Syaaf have them in its own inventory logistical problems would not be so big like in the case of Su-30 or even Su-25.

The more interesting question now is that if RuAF does plan to carrier out airstrikes will there dragging their feet on purchases of new PGM come to hurt them now? Not to mention that the smallest PGM that Russia has on offer at the moment is the KAB-500 which is still a big bomb. American equivalent is the GBU-16 or GBU-48. Not good if you are going to be targeting IS in urban city and want to avoid the bad press of collateral damage.

Anyone have any opinions on this?

There is many way to kill a cat.
S-25L rocket,Ugroza conversion kit for standard ones (but also unguided one are quite precise), At-16, Kh-25,Kh-29, Kh-59.
Russians have Jdam type bombs but they are definitely not their weapon of choice.
Also because to exploit their full potential you need scores of drones and a very precise satellite signal, something they fulfilled just recently.
In any case they can also habe the occasion to give a try of the new weapons presented at MAKS.

In fact it’s sound like being a good concept. Pack a punch in a smaller, cheaper, faster platform that you can broadly disseminate.

Add UAV with a high speed recovery mode and you can avoid fragile and capricious VTOL design (wind speed). A sea speed just under 50knts will let you recover something rather heavy able to carry an use full load in challenging weather.

EDIT:
the vessel depicted above seems even to big.

4500tons, max 32knt, 22knt cruise speed:the one depicted is the”heavy” version with dual -band AESA radar and OTOMAT/MILAS launcher. We will take them as a substitute of the Soldati class “Pattugliatori di Squadra” (I think it is a quite our ownpeculiar type of ship, so no translation available).
The rest of them would be on a lighter configuration, still with CAMM+ however but with standard fittings for humanitarian aid and immigrants rescue.
Tons went high because of that type of mission more than about weaponry, so if someone in only interested in waqing war :apologetic: it could be reduced…
The core of the 12 items order would