Shooting down a Russian Ilyushin II-20 turbo-prop reconnaissance plane Sept 18 over the Mediterranean coast of Syria, Syria’s Russian-made S-200 missile defense hit the lumbering plane with a surface-to-air-missile, killing 15 Russian aircrew. Hitting the so-called Russian “Coot” surveillance aircraft, the Syrian military blamed Israel for going after Iranian targets inside Syria, throwing off the S-200 missile defense system. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the attack followed Iraeli F-16 attacks, throwing off Syrian missile defense system. Israeli officials denied that any of their F-16 action had anything to do with the S-200 launching a heat-seeking missile at the Russian reconnaissance plane. Russian Defense Ministry said Israeli F-16 fighter jets used the Russian “Coot” as cover, something so improbable, clearly shifting the blame off Syria, where it belongs.
Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] said Syria’s mistake blamed Syria’s “extensive and inaccurate” Syrian anti-aircraft fire. Russian President Vladimir Putin, tried to get to the bottom of the mishap, summoned IDF officials to give telemetry data to ascertain the whereabouts of Israeli F-16 at the time of the shoot-down. “The trace of the II-20 on flight control radars disappeared during an attack by four Israeli F-16 jets on Syrian facilities in Latakia province,” read the Russian Defense Ministry statement. Whatever happened, it underscored the dangers of multiple air forces operating in the Syrian theatre, something former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ignored when she urged setting up no-fly zones during the 2016 presidential campaign. Hillary’s plan, backed by the late Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) would have increase the chances of a U.S.-Russian-U.S. military mishap.
Looking for someone to blame other than Damascus, Russia’s Defense Ministry laid the blame on Israel. “We view these provocative Israeli actions to be hostile,” said Konashenkov to the Moscow Times. “Fifteen Russian servicemen died as a result of the irresponsible actions of the Israeli military,” pointing fingers at Israel. Israeli telemetry data shows that Israeli F-16s were no where in the vicinity of the S-200 surface-to-air missile launch, show the Syrian S-200 defense systems at fault. “At the same time Russian air control radar detected rocket launches from the French frigate Vuvergne which was located in that region,” said the Russian Defense Ministry. “When the Syrian Army launched the missiles that hit Russian plane,” Israeli Air Force [IAF] were outside the area of operation. Russia and Israel have “deconfliction” protocols to avoid the kind of mishap that happened Sept. 18.
Analyzing the data shows that the S-200 anti-aircraft defense system is prone toward errors, leaving air traffic controlling a nightmare in the area. “When the Syrian Army launched the missiles that hit the Russian plane, the IAF jets were already within Israeli airspace. After viewing the data, the Russian Defense Ministry now believes that “extensive and inaccurate Syrian anti-aircraft fire caused the Russian plane to be hit and downed,” read the initial report. IAF F-16s were back in Israeli air space at the time the Russian turbo-prop “Coot” was hit by a Syrian surface-to-air-missile. Syrian S-200 anti-aircraft batteries fired indiscriminately hitting the Russian plane, without checking what plane was operating in the theatre. Israeli IAF officials showed Russia the data to prove that Israeli F-16s were nowhere around the Russian reconnaissance plane downed by the Syrian surface-to-air missile.
When you consider the recent peace initiative in Idlib province by Russian and Turkey, it was designed to avoid another humanitarian crisis, should the Syrian, Russian and Iranian armies start bombing the area to rid the region of rebel and terrorist groups. Russian has been opposing Saudi-funded Syrian opposition group since joining al-Assad’s battle Sept. 30, 2015. It’s hard to believe that Russian really subscribe to Turkey’s attempt to annex Syrian territory for the purpose of giving oppositions groups and permanent safe have in Syria. Watching the Russian plane go down shows the dangers of multiple air forces operation in a war zone. Had Hillary become president, there’s no telling how many friendly fire or accidental shoot downs there would have been had she set up her no-fly zone. Russia found out the hard way what happens when amateurs operate their S-200 anti-aircraft system.
After passing around the blame, Russia knows how easy Syria can make mistakes using its Russian-made S-200 missile defense system. Israel had no problem showing Putin its whereabouts at the time its surveillance plane was shot out the sky by a Syrian surface-to-air missile. With all sides quibbling over who’s at fault, Russian learned a bitter lesson about operating anywhere around the S-200 air defense system, when trigger-happy operators start firing surface-to-air missiles indiscriminately. If there’s any lesson to combatants in the Syrian theatre, it’s that mishaps can happen, this time killing 15 Russian airmen. Syria, and other Mideast Arab states, like to blame Israel for it military failures. But a cursory view of the facts surrounding the lost Russian plane shows that Syria operated its S-200 missile defense system recklessly, downing the Russian jet.
