Russian MoD: S-400 Data Shows Israeli F-16 Hid Behind Russian Il-20 to Avoid Syrian Missile
- Russian MoD: S-400 Data Shows Israeli F-16 Hid Behind Russian Il-20 to Avoid Syrian Missile
by https://www.rt.com/
Data captured by Russia’s S-400 system proves Israeli jets were responsible for the downing of the Russian plane, the Defense Ministry said, adding that the Syrian missile changed its course shortly before hitting the Il-20.
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Data gleaned from the S-400 air defense system deployed at the Russian Khmeimim air base in Syria’s Latakia province has revealed that the Syrian anti-air missile was, in fact, targeting an Israeli F-16 jet before it abruptly altered its course and eventually hit the Russian aircraft. This, and the position of all the aircraft at the moment of the September 17 incident, proves that an Israeli jet was de facto using the larger Il-20 as a cover, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov told journalists at Monday’s news briefing.
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The radar images revealed at the briefing “clearly showed the direction of the flight of the S-200 missile launched by the Syrian air defense system, as well as the locations of the Russian and Israeli aircraft,” Konashenkov said, adding that “it is quite clear that the missile was targeting the Israeli jet.”
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That’s not likely. The IFF identification friend foe system of the Russian Il-20 is coupled to the IFF of the S-400 missile system, making such an error almost impossible. It is more likely that the Israeli F-16 has been using highly advanced means of electronic countermeasures projecting the image of an F-16 onto the Il-20 in order to deceive any incoming missile, but the Russians may be too embarrassed to admit this.
Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is an identification system designed for command and control. It enables military and civilian air traffic control interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing and range from the interrogator. IFF may be used by both military and civilian aircraft. IFF was first developed during the Second World War, with the arrival of radar, and several infamous friendly fire incidents.
The F-16 may have disabled its IFF, due to its aggressive and stealthy mode of operation, but the Il-20 has not, since it’s a non offensive aircraft operating in allied air-space.