The Aviationist: “Turkish Air Force F-16s ambushed the Su-24 Fencer”: here’s Russia’s version of the controversial shootdown
On Nov. 24, a Su-24M Fencer bomber was shot down by a TuAF F-16 near the Turkey-Syria border. The Turkish Air Force claims the Russian bomber violated the Turkish airspace after ignoring several radio warning issued by a GCI (Ground Controlled Intercept) radar station.
Although the violation (the last in a series of alleged incursions) was extremely short (17 seconds) the intruding Su-24 was hit by an air-to-air missile and caught fire. Both crew members ejected: one died after being fired upon while descending towards the ground; the other one was rescued by a CSAR (Combat SAR) mission.
However, the Russian Air Force has a different version of the story.
Here’s the release by the Russian MoD (highlights mine):
WNU Editor: The more that I think about this incident, the more that I am shaking my head. Turkey had to realize that there was going to be blow-back from Russia for such an incident .... and that any Syrian rebel group aligned with Turkey would then become primary targets. And while there is a lot of speculation that Turkey's Erdogan purposely ordered this shoot-down to galvanize NATO support for his own involvement in Syria .... it is not happening. Sanctions and an intensified military campaign against Turkish allies in Syria have become the end result, and I do not see it ending any-time soon.
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