Russia Deploys Elite ‘Hellduck’ Bombers for Strikes on Jihadists as Clashes in Idlib Escalate

Amid escalating clashes in Syria’s Idlib province, which have seen Turkey providing considerable armaments and direct fire support to a range of jihadist militias on the ground, the Russian Air Force has deployed its elite Su-34 ‘Hellduck’ strike fighters for attacks on militant positions. Idlib has been described in U.S. reports as the world’s largest Al Qaeda safe haven and is dominated by Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate the Al Nusra front. Jihadists dug in there have benefitted from access to a considerable arsenal of handheld surface to air missiles (MANPADS) from Turkey. Footage of previous airstrikes by Syrian and Russian Su-24 strike fighters and Syrian MiG-23 fighters showed the aircraft making extensive use of flares and other decoys to avoid large MANPAD attacks - to which they are potentially vulnerable when flying at low altitudes. MANPADS have failed to down any Syrian or Russian jets so far, but were used by jihadists to shoot down a low flying Russian Su-25 attack jet in February 2018.

The Su-34 has reportedly been deployed to neutralise the threat from surface to air missiles, and boasts state of the art defences including a new flare system and advanced electronic warfare systems. This combined with its superior firepower and flight performance characteristics over other strike fighter classes allows it to more effectively operate in contested airspace. The aircraft have reportedly succeeded in neutralising militants’ surface to air missile sites, although the reprieve for Syrian and Russian aircraft is likely to be temporary as jihadists are refurbished with new weaponry from Turkey. On February 27th alone Turkey reportedly lost 33 personnel in Idlib, which Russia stated were intermingled with jihadists on the ground. A more heavily handed Turkish intervention in Idlib is likely to see Russian strikes intensify, and could potentially see more Russian strike fighters deployed to the theatre. Russia currently deploys an estimated six Su-34 fighters to Syria alongside ten of the older Su-24, but its airbase in Latakia province has the potential to house many more.