Israel assesses Russian and Syrian air co-operation

Moscow and Damascus are reportedly carrying out joint air operations in Syria, which has caused the Israeli air force to reassess its concept of operations as it works to prevent the flow of weapons through the country to other terrorist cells. According to Israeli sources, the military co-operation between Russian and Syria forces is a "changing factor" that calls for different operational procedures for the Israeli air force to practice. In September, an operational co-ordination was established between Russia and Israel in the Syrian airspace that allowed the Israeli air force to perform attacks in Syria as part of Tel Aviv’s effort to block the flow of advanced weapons systems to the Hezbollah terror organisation. The presence of Russian forces in Syria increasingly seems to be an indefinite one which, alongside the joint Syrian operations, will force the IAF to act carefully when there is a need to enter Syrian airspace, according to sources. The Syrian air force operates Russian types including the Mikoyan MiG-21 and MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-22 and Su-24, Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer database shows.