Il-20 Military Aircraft Shot Down During Israeli air strikes (2018)

Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation: the Russian Il-20 with 14 military men on board disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea
The plane disappeared from radar during the attack of F-16 fighters of the Air Force of Israel for facilities in the province of Lattakia

MOSCOW, September 18. / TASS /. The Russian military aircraft IL-20 with 14 servicemen on board disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea. Il-20 disappeared during the attack of F-16 fighters of the Israeli Air Force on targets in the province of Latakia, the fate of the Russian military is unknown, the Russian Defense Ministry told journalists on Tuesday.

"On September 17, at about 11:00 Moscow time, on returning to the airbase of Khmeimim over the Mediterranean Sea, 35 kilometers from the coast of Syria, the connection with the crew of the Russian Il-20 aircraft was lost," the department said. They specified that "the mark of IL-20 on the radars of aviation control disappeared during the attack of four Israeli F-16 aircraft on Syrian targets in the province of Latakia."

"At the same time, the Russian radar monitoring of airspace recorded rocket launches from the French frigate Auvergne, which was in the area," the Defense Ministry said.

The ministry noted that there were 14 servicemen aboard the aircraft, "their fate is unknown", "the command of the Russian air base Khmeimim organized a search and rescue operation."

The Russian Il-20 was shot down by the fault of Israel, they declared in the Ministry of Defense

MOSCOW, September 18 (Itar-Tass) - RIA Novosti. Russia regards the provocation of Israel as hostile actions, said the official representative of the Defense Ministry, Major-General Igor Konashenkov.

The department told that the Russian Il-20 was shot down by the S-200 missile of Syrian air defense, but Israel is responsible for this.
"As a result of the irresponsible actions of the Israeli military, 15 Russian servicemen were killed, which is absolutely not in keeping with the spirit of the Russian-Israeli partnership," Konashenkov stressed.

According to him, the Israeli pilots, under the cover of the IL-20, framed it under the impact of Syrian air defense. In addition, it is noted that the Israeli means of aviation management could not help seeing the Russian plane, since it came in for landing.

"The command of the Russian group of forces in Syria did not warn about the planned operation," the hotline "notification was received less than one minute before the strike, which did not allow the Russian aircraft to be taken to the safe zone," the Defense Ministry spokesman added.

As noted by Konashenkov, the Defense Ministry reserves the right to adequate response actions.
The Israeli Embassy in Moscow declined to comment on this information.

miketheterrible wrote:There is one major flaw in this though

Russian airforce systems, including that Il-20, would have seen those F-16's and missiles from far away. So the 1 minute warning is bullshit. Israel probably told war earlier and Russia didn't expect Israel to be such dicks, like they are.

AlfaT8 wrote:

verkhoturye51 wrote:Oi, we're not making WW3 down there. Russia want's some long run stability in the region and functioning Syrian state with normal relations with all of their neighbors. It means they have to take a step back sometimes and consider interests of others, too.

Russia has won Syria with a lot of politics and diplomacy and a tiny little bit of bullets. Make it the opposite and you get chaos of Libya, Iraq or Afganistan.

Israelis, Turks and US soldiers will be in Syria until they find an agreement with Iran and Hezbollah, as well as find a new political solution. In the meantime, tragic incidents will happen. And you can't simply attack Israel, as they are too strong. So get down from the tree and get real and put some real work and talking to become as strong as Israel.

So..... give Syria nukes????

Bigger question should be why a reconnaissance plane was flying without escorts, the hell were all those Flankers at?

verkhoturye51 wrote:
Israelis, Turks and US soldiers will be in Syria until they find an agreement with Iran and Hezbollah, as well as find a new political solution. In the meantime, tragic incidents will happen. And you can't simply attack Israel, as they are too strong. So get down from the tree and get real and put some real work and talking to become as strong as Israel.

AlfaT8 wrote:
Bigger question should be why a reconnaissance plane was flying without escorts, the hell were all those Flankers at?

GunshipDemocracy wrote:because it was landing in US safe zone? Israelis were waiting till is starts landing then attacked. Deliberately.

Hole wrote:But in this case the enemy would use the libanese airspace as cover. The only real solution would be to declare openly that every attack on Syria will be considered as an attack on Russia with all the consequences if it happens.

Tsavo Lion wrote:Israel is also hiding behind the US,

AlfaT8 wrote:Is it time to send the Syrians the S-300 yet, especially after this mess.