2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown

2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
The Su-24M aircraft that was shot down, two weeks before the event.
Incident
Date24 November 2015 (2015-11-24)
SummaryShot down by Turkish F-16 fighter jet
SiteSyria–Turkey border
Aircraft
Aircraft typeSukhoi Su-24M
Operator Russian Air Force
Registration83
Flight originKhmeimim Air Base, Syria
Occupants2
Crew2
Fatalities1
Survivors1

On 24 November 2015, a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M attack aircraft near the Syria–Turkey border.[1][2] According to Turkey, the aircraft was fired upon while in Turkish airspace because it violated the border up to a depth of 2.19 kilometres (1.36 miles) for about 17 seconds after being warned to change its heading ten times over a period of five minutes before entering the airspace.[3][4] The Russia Defence Ministry denied that the aircraft ever left Syrian airspace, claiming that their satellite data showed that the Sukhoi was about 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) inside Syrian airspace when it was shot down.[5]

The U.S. State Department said that the U.S. independently confirmed that the aircraft's flight path violated Turkish territory, and that the Turks gave multiple warnings to the pilot, to which they received no response and released audio recordings of the warnings they had broadcast.[6][7] Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed out that Turkey had the right to defend its airspace.[8] Although Russian president Vladimir Putin said that the U.S. knew the flight path of the Russian jet and should have informed Turkey, two U.S. officials said that Russia had not informed the U.S. military of its jet's flight plan.[9]

The Russian pilot and navigator both ejected from the aircraft. The navigator Konstantin Murakhtin was rescued, but the pilot Oleg Peshkov was shot and killed by Syrian rebel ground fire while descending by parachute.[10] A Russian marine from the search and rescue team launched to retrieve the two airmen was also killed when a rescue helicopter was targeted by the rebels.[10][11]

The incident was the first destruction of a Russian or Soviet Air Forces warplane by a NATO member state since an attack on the Sui-ho Dam during the Korean War in 1953.[12][13][14] Reactions to the incident included denunciation from Russia and an attempt to defuse the situation by NATO afterwards. Russia deployed the guided missile cruiser Moskva armed with S-300F (SA-N-6 Grumble) long-range SAM missiles off the Syrian coast near Latakia[15] and S-400 (SA-21 Growler) mobile SAM systems to Khmeimim airbase. In response, the Turkish Armed Forces deployed the KORAL land-based radar electronic support system in Hatay Province along the Turkish–Syrian border.[16][17]

  1. ^ Lydia Tomkiw (24 November 2015). "What Is A Fencer Su-24? What To Know About The Russian Plane Shot Down By Turkey". International Business Times. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. ^ Press release (24 November 2015). "Hava sahası İletim" [Transmission of Airspace]. Turkish Armed Forces Chief of Staff (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference unscstatement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Turkey downs Russian jet". Al Jazeera. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Turkey's downing of Russian warplane - what we know". BBC News. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  6. ^ Andrea Mitchell (30 November 2015). "U.S. Confirms That Downed Russian Plane Entered Turkish Airspace". NBC News. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Daily Press Briefing – November 30, 2015 – RUSSIA/TURKEY". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Turkey's downing of Russian warplane – what we know". BBC. 24 November 2015.
  9. ^ Phil Stewart, Russia didn't give downed jet's flight plan to U.S.: U.S. officials, Reuters (27 November 2015).
  10. ^ a b "Syrian Turkmens fired on parachuting Russian pilots, killing at least one after Turkey shot down warplane: official". National Post. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference weapon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (24 November 2015). "The last time a Russian jet was shot down by a NATO jet was in 1952". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Turkey downing that Russian fighter jet is terrible news for the war on ISIS". Slate Magazine. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  14. ^ "A NATO Country Just Shot Down a Russian Warplane for the First Time Since the Cold War". Maxim. 24 November 2015.
  15. ^ Victoria Richards (25 November 2015). "Russia deploys warship to Mediterranean to destroy 'any target' after plane shot down by Turkey". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Russia To Wage Electronic Warfare Against Turkey". Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  17. ^ "TURKEY DEPLOYED KORAL RADAR-ELECTRONIC WARFARE SYSTEM CLOSE TO SYRIA TO COUNTER RUSSIAN S-400 MISSILE SYSTEM". DCSS News. Retrieved 23 May 2016.