Why Russia Withdrew Su-25 Assault Aircraft From Syria but Brought in Attack Helicopters

Thanks to a highly effective jamming system the helicopters are actually more survivable in the face of a new MANPAD threat

Mid-March Putin ordered a drawdown of Russian forces in Syria. Satelitte images show that what Russians subsequently withdrew was 3 out of their 15 Su-24 tactical bombers. 4 out of their 8 Su-34 tactical bombers. As well as their entire fleet of 12 Su-25 ground assault aircraft.

They left behind all of their Su-30 and Su-35 air superiority fighters and also flew in at least 4 more additional Mi-28 and Ka-52 attack helicopters. Overall since January through March the number of Russian helicopters in its Syria air base went up from some 4 machines to about 14.

Thus the Russian drawdown did not only mean a reduction of Russian forces, it also meant a change in its composition. Fixed-wing assault aircraft were withdrawn completely and rotary-wing attack aircraft were brought in their place.

A Su-25 has different capabilities than an attack helicopter but their roles are the same. They are meant to provide close air support to frontline ground units. So why change one for the other?

The Su-25s the Russians had in Syria were old airframes. It is likely that in a space of six months the Russians flew so many sorties on these machines that they needed to be flown back for factory-level overhauls.

However, this can not be the reason why they were replaced by attack helicopters. The Russians could have easily flown in a new rotation of Su-25s but they opted not to.

Here is where it gets interesting. Syrian rebels were always known to possess some anti-aircraft capability including shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. (Also “MANPAD” as in “man-portable air defense system”.)

However, they were believed to have only a very small number of these as there was a taboo among their backers against introducing such weapons (which could be used in terrorist attacks) to the battlefield.

Recently, however, it has become apparent this taboo has been broken as two Syrian jets were brought down with such weapons this month and pictures of rebels posing with such weapons begun popping up on the internet….More here

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Why Russia Withdrew Su-25 Assault Aircraft From Syria but Brought in Attack Helicopters