The disappearance of Il-20 in Syria: an Accidental tragedy or a planned attack
It happened on Monday at 23: 00, in the midst of an attack allegedly Israeli F-16 on Syrian industrial facilities in the provinces of Latakia and Hama. As reported in the Russian defense Ministry, communication with the reconnaissance aircraft, on Board of which there were 14 Russian soldiers, disappeared 35 kilometers from the coast. At the same time, the means of objective control at the same time recorded missile launches from the French frigate Auvergne.
By Tuesday morning, the fate of the missing Il-20 has not cleared up. In the Mediterranean sea, command of the air base Hamim organized a search and rescue operation. However, judging by the absence of any signals, there is almost no hope for a successful outcome. And now it remains to understand what was the cause of the crash of the Russian military aircraft.
Il-20-a plane of electronic intelligence and electronic warfare on the basis of passenger aircraft Il-18. He was noticed more than once in the sky over Syria. In real time, it can track the activity of ships and aircraft of the NATO group, and coordinate the actions of Russian troops on the ground. For example, on Board the Il-20 coordinated strikes "Caliber" on the bases of terrorists. Last night, he could track the attacks on Syrian targets, which, according to eyewitnesses, were carried out from the sea. By the way, judging by the data of the online service that tracks the airspace, the whole day before the attack along the coast of Syria, an American reconnaissance aircraft cruised. However, for this area such activity is not surprising.
Representatives of the Pentagon in an interview with CNN disowned and attacks on Syrian targets, and from involvement in the fate of Il-20. At the same time, the us government suggested that the Russian reconnaissance aircraft was accidentally shot down by Syrian air defenses during the repulse of the attack. And this version is generally very haphazard.
A few hours earlier, the Russian defense Ministry presented concrete evidence that the Malaysian Boeing over the Donbas was shot down by Ukraine. Overseas with their technical capabilities probably knew about it for a long time, but supported the Ukrainian version for their geopolitical reasons. And here such "setup". In addition, in Sochi, presidents Putin and Erdogan actually ended the war in Syria, having developed a plan for the demilitarization of the province of Idlib without ground operations. "And where now to put imported barrels of chlorine," joked about it in social networks. The actions of Russia and Turkey thwarted the plan of provocation with the use of toxic substances and reduced the level of military tension in the region to a historical minimum. That, of course, hardly liked professing of the ocean "religion" to the unresolved conflict. Although it was in Idlib was the risk of a global collision in the case of the Americans strikes on the location of Russian troops.
And then suddenly, immediately after the historic briefing of the MOD and the agreements between Putin and Erdogan strikes on Syrian factories and the Russian plane disappears. The tension again hung not only over Syria, but also over the world as a whole. Of course, all versions have the right to exist. And the probability of tragedy as a result of" friendly fire " should be considered on an equal basis with all. Although it is quite strange that three years after the start of the operation is not established system of identification of his-a stranger. But what does not happen in the fever, when anti-aircraft missile systems operate on multiple targets, among which the radar suddenly wormed and the Il-20 mark.
Shoot down the plane could also the Israeli air force (if it really they struck) or the French frigate. However, we have long been in close contact with the Israeli military, a special channel is working, which is designed to prevent such tragedies in the air. By the way, representatives of the IDF after Turkey was shot down by A Russian bomber, said that Israel would not attack in a similar situation. The French? Unless the missile class ground-to-air. Because if the French frigate was involved in the shelling of ground targets, the use of cruise missiles of the earth-ground class. And they shoot down the plane is problematic. However, the French had no reason to attack the Il-20. What for? To hide your involvement in the night strike? So for a long time no one hesitates to iron Syrian research institutes and enterprises without any sanctions. There is a small probability of accidental missile hit on the aircraft. And, of course, the version of the technical fault on Board. As stated in the defense Ministry, the Il-20 disappeared from the radar during the return to base Hamim. And most of the plane crashes, as you know, occurs during takeoff and approach. And while there are no official reports of the death of the crew of the reconnaissance aircraft, we can hope for a miracle.
news source: «Комсомольская правда»
