Russian Su-24s
The Su-24M/MR bomber/recce fleets still hold their place in Russian service and the ageing type has performed fairly well in the Syrian campaign. Alexander Mladenov reports on the current status and the prospects of the otherwise troublesome Fencer in Russian service.
Alegacy of the Cold War era, the numerical strength of the Su-24M Fencer-D strike aircraft has gradually reduced due to the Su-34 Fullback’s induction into service. Since 2012, it has replaced the swing-wing Fencer-D in no fewer than nine frontline bomber squadrons of the Vozdushno- Kosmicheskiye Sily Rossiyskoy Federatsii (VKS, Russian Aerospace Forces). At the same time, the upgraded Su-24M has proven reasonably effective in Russia’s campaign in Syria where it’s used for counter-insurgency warfare. As a result, current VKS development plans call for its existing two frontline Su-24M squadrons to be retained for the time being. There are suggestions the Fencer-D force may even expand to four or five squadrons in the foreseeable future. In addition, four more squadrons still fly the Su-24MR reconnaissance derivative, the Fencer-E, which is set to continue in use until the middle of the next decade.
Within the Morskaya Avia…
