Russian air force using electronic warfare (EW) system reportedly blocked Turkish F-16 fighter jets from shooting down Syrian Su-22 jets over Idlib. Turkey has been locked in a bitter confrontation with Syria and has launched a series of campaign against the Assad forces in Idlib.

The incident occurred on March 4 and it became known that Russian reconnaissance aircraft equipped with the Il-22PP Porubshchik jammed the Turkish missile from F-16 which was directed at the Syrian jet.

Over the past few days, Syrian aircraft have been repeatedly targetted by Turkish forces. In particular, a combat training L-39 was recently shot down by Ankara, before which the Turkish Air Force shot-down two Syrian Su-24 bombers.

All three jets of the Arab Republic were hit after the Turkish Army launched Operation Spring Shield in Idlib on March 1. Earlier, several unsuccessful attempts were made to shoot down Russian bombers from man-made anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS) FIM-92 Stinger.

The situation is complicated by the fact that attacks, as military experts note, are carried out by Turkish F-16s with long-range AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and the target is guided by a Boeing early warning and control reconnaissance aircraft 737AEW&C of Turkish Air Force (equipped with electronic warfare, which includes the system of optoelectronic counteraction AN/AAQ-24 Nemesis).

It is important to note that Turkish F-16 fighter jets launched operations in Idlib without entering the Syrian airspace as Moscow had forewarned Ankara that it would not guarantee the safety of Turkish jets over Syrian airspace.

The Russian and the Syrian Air Force were prepared for countermeasures and thus were able to able to dodge the AIM-120 missile, launched by the Turkish F-16. According to military experts taking to the EurAsian Times, the mission of jamming Turkish missiles was possible due to the Russian integrated reconnaissance aircraft Tu-214R.

Russia has significantly increased its EW forces in the region. With the assistance of Tu-214 and Il-22PP, which were not only able to detect the approaching Turkish F-16s but also warned Syrian fighters, ”writes the Chinese news portal Sina.