There will always be two Su-35 jets ready to take off in just 60 seconds at Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia.
Today, a spokesman for the Russian forces in Syria said that Russia’s new-generation Su-35 fighter jets will be on full time duty at the Latakia base in Syria, ready to take off at a minute’s notice to provide cover for aerial operations in the area.
The spokesman said that there will always be two Su-35 jets ready to take off in just 60 seconds at Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia.
He also said that two Su-35s can provide a 360-degree field of view with coverage ranging to 400 kilometers in the air and the Su-35 is a multirole fighter jet capable of providing air cover for the strike aircraft and strike surface targets as well as subsurface ones. The jets are capable of locating, tracking and hitting up to eight targets at once. The spokesman also added that Su-35s are equipped with advanced active jamming stations rendering them ‘invisible’ to the enemy.
“Now, our task is to use [the capabilities of the Su-35 jets] to the maximum. We will use every weapon that [these fighter jets] are equipped with. They can be equipped with any type of air bombs with combat loads up to eight tons,” the spokesman said.
On monday a Russian news agency Tass reported citing the Russian Defense Ministry that the Su-35s were deployed to Syria and performed their first combat missions last week.
Since the Russian engagement in Syria last year September 30, the Khmeimim Air Base had accommodated Russian Air Force squadrons of Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets, Su-34 and Su-24 tactical bombers, and Su-25 attack aircraft. It is also reported that in November, Russia deployed a unit of its cutting-edge S-400 air defense systems to the base after a Russian Su-34M bomber was shot down by the Turkish Air Force in Syrian airspace. Those S-400s surface to air missiles are designed to ensure air defense using long and medium-range missiles that can hit aerial targets, including tactical and strategic aircraft as well as ballistic and cruise missiles, at ranges of up to 400 kilometers. Russia also deployed the Vice-Admiral Kulakov missile destroyer off the Syrian coast to provide air defense and naval support.