By Dusty Good, Navy Office of Community Outreach
“The Navy has made me stronger,” added MacDonald. “It’s shown me that some people can be hard to work with but you have to learn to work together.”
By Dusty Good, Navy Office of Community Outreach
“The Navy has made me stronger,” added MacDonald. “It’s shown me that some people can be hard to work with but you have to learn to work together.”
A Russian Air Force Antonov An-26 “Curl” cargo plane crashed on descent in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, as reported by the Associated Press.
The An-26 was landing with 26 passengers and six crew when it crashed 1,600 feet short of the runway.
The cargo plane was landing at the Hemeimeem military base, which Russia leases from Syria. The base is along the Mediterranean coast, far from the front lines of the ongoing Syrian Civil War. The plan did not come under fire, according to the Russians, who are blaming a “technical error” for the crash.
The An-26 is a venerable Soviet-era cargo plane in wide use throughout the world in military and civil service. More than 1,400 were built from 1969-1986 when production ceased. While the plane is a workhorse for many agencies, it is aging equipment and is quickly breaking down, with 17 reported crashes in the last 10 years. This incident is the sixth reported AN-26 crash since the beginning of 2017. In October 2017, a French An-26 crashed while landing in the Ivory Coast, killing four and wounding six. The French plane was Soviet built and 42 years old.
This is the second Russian Air Force An-26 lost in the Syrian Civil War. In 2015, another An-26 crashed while trying to land at an air base in Idlib Governorate.
The continued use of the An-26 is one of the many little chinks in the myth of modern Russian armor and armament. While Russia’s military has made great strides in recent years, the backbone of its military is still decades behind the U.S. and Europe. The majority of the several hundred Russian military cargo/transport planes are propeller-driven and were built when the Soviet Union still existed. Even its jet transports like the venerable IL-76 “Candid” has been around since 1971. Another problem for Russia is that Antonov is a Ukranian company. The modern, AN-148, introduced in 2009, has stalled for Russia because of slow production times and the cooling of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Russia. As a result, the Russian military only has 12 of the modern passenger/cargo jets in service.
By comparison, while the United States Air Force still maintains and uses more than 300 C-130 “Hercules” variants of the Cold War prop-driven cargo plane, it has switched to the modern C-17A “Globemaster III” for much of its logistical work. The “Globemaster III” was first deployed in 1995, and the U.S. has more than 200 in service today.
While not commonly armed, interestingly, the An-26 was used as a bomber by the Sudanese Air Force during the Second Sudanese Civil War and the War in Darfur. Russian pilots also train with the AN-26 as a bomber simulator.
The twin-engine turboprop has a typical crew of five and can seat up to 40 people and carry cargo.
The Chinese transport Xian Y-7 is a derivative of the An-24 and An-26.
Turkish forces claimed Friday that at least two of its F-16 fighters fired upon and destroyed a Russian Su-24 “Fencer” strike fighter after it violated the NATO ally’s airspace.
The move is likely to set off a diplomatic frenzy, and it is the latest test in what will be a tenuous and tedious relationship between American/NATO forces and the Russian military in the Syrian Civil War and the battle against ISIS/ISIL.
The Su-24 is a sweep-wing strike aircraft very similar to the retired American F-111 “Aardvark.” Its wings resemble that of the iconic American F-14 “Tomcat” fighter, but the Su-24 is not primarily an air-to-air fighter craft. Typically, the “Fencer” is used in ground attack and missile delivery missions, though it can be equipped to defend itself against air attack. In addition to bombs and and missiles, the Su-24 is equipped with the 23 mm GSh-6-23 cannon with 500 rounds standard, and it typically takes off with two air-to-air missiles.
Turkish forces are claiming that the Russian jet repeatedly violated Turkish air space and was shot down after several warnings. The Russians have denied this, saying their plane was always flying over Syria.
‘‘We are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet,’’ Russia’s Defense Ministry told the Associated Press. ‘‘The Ministry of Defense would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight.’’
The Su-24 was in production from 1967-1993. Out of the 1,400 units built, hundreds remain in service today with several nations, particularly former Soviet states. As of 2008, more than 400 remained in service in the Russian military.
The attack craft satisfied the Soviet need for an agile, all-weather, supersonic strike fighter in an era in which virtually all American efforts were in building interceptor aircraft to counter the Soviet Union’s massive nuclear capable bombers.
While the Su-24 is an ancient Cold War design, the fighter that was shot down by the Turks is almost certainly a highly-updated Su-24M variant. It stands to reason that the Russians would only deploy its most advanced version of this aircraft to the front lines of a battlefield, and these planes have previously been seen operating over Syria. The “M” has GLONASS navigation, upgraded computer technology including multi-function displays, a head-up display, and helmet-mounted weapon sights. It can also carry the latest and most advanced weapons, including R-73 “Archer” air-to-air missiles.
This is not the first Su-24 involvement or loss during the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian government operates several Soviet-era planes, including the “Fencer.” In November 2012, a “Fencer” was seen attacking anti-government rebel positions. Later that month, one of the Syrian Air Force Su-24s was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Aleppo.
On Sept. 23, 2014, the Israeli Air Force shot down another Syrian Su-24 using a surface-to-air missile after the Su-24 allegedly violated Israeli air space over the Golan Heights.
Prior to today, the Russians had 12 Su-24s operating as part of its recent military operations in Syria.
The US Navy is promoting its Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), the wave of the future in which aircraft will be launched on future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers.
The electromagnetic system will replace steam-driven catapults, which have launched navy aircraft for 60 years.
“EMALS uses stored kinetic energy and solid-state electrical power conversion. This technology permits a high degree of computer control, monitoring and automation. The system will also provide the capability for launching all current and future carrier air wing platforms – lightweight unmanned to heavy strike fighters,” the Navy said in a statement.
The video below shows EMALS in action, with a text off the USS Gerald R. Ford.
EMALS is purported to more more reliable and efficient than steam catapults, providing better end-speed control and the capacity to launch larger, heavier aircraft than ever before.
Media outlets are reporting that an F-15C “Eagle” out of the Massachusetts Air National Guard has crashed in Deerfield, Va. this morning.
According to a statement from the Virginia State Police, police located a crash site, with heavy smoke showing from the side of a mountain. Officials were trying to reach the site around 11 a.m. EDT.
Witnesses told police they heard a loud explosion short before 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
NBC News reported that the plan was headed from Massachusetts to New Orleans for a systems upgrade.
The F-15C has a stellar performance record in service to the United States Air Force and ANG squadrons.
The F-15 is likely out of the 104th Fighter Wing, a unit of the Massachusetts ANG stationed at Barnes Air National Guard Base. It is typically under state control unless activated to federal service under the U.S. Air Force Combat Command.
The Wing currently has 20 F-15’s under its command.