Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Ministry of Defense)
Syria has succeeded in restoring more of its surviving Soviet-made Su-22 fighter bombers, according to videos posted to social networks on August 10.
The footage shows a pair of Su-22s painted in dark green flying in formation over the northern governorate of Idlib. The semi-official Al-Watan newspaper said that the jets were on a “training flight” that also covered the central and western governorates of Homs and Hama.
In what appears to be a comment on the flight, the new Syrian military shared what appears to be an illustrative photo of two Su-22s to Telegram with the caption “from an era of fear, to a sign of safety.”
The jets likely took off from Shayrat Air Base in Homs. The bulk of the now-dissolved Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) fleet of Su-22s was based there throughout the war. The SyAAF reportedly had some 50 Su-22s of different versions when the war first broke out in 2011.
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Ministry of Defense)
By the time the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad began collapsing late in 2024, only a few dozen were still operational, and right after the collapse, Israel launched hundreds of strikes with the aim to destroy all of Syria’s combat capabilities in a large-scale aerial attack dubbed “Operation Arrow of Bashan.”
At least one squadron of Su-22s was destroyed in the strikes, with Hebrew media reporting early on in the operation that the SyAAF lost just over 60 percent of its capabilities.
Later it became clear, however, that the SyAAF lost much more, and the new Islamist-led Interim Government began efforts to rebuild its aerial capabilities as the Syrian Air Force (SyAF).
A promotional video of the SyAF released last year revealed that at least one Su-22, specifically a Su-22UM-4K twin-seat trainer painted in dark green, had survived. The same jet was reportedly seen flying over Homs earlier this year, specifically in June.
The Su-22, which first entered service in the 1960s, was specifically designed to carry out close air support and ground attack missions.
The latest footage indicates that more Su-22s may have survived the collapse of the Assad regime and the Israeli strikes that followed, although sources with knowledge of the current status of the SyAF told SouthFront that the two jets seen flying over Idlib recently were the only ones that were in fixable condition.
Besides the two Su-22s, the SyAF is just operating a number of Czech-made L-39 training jets. A small fleet of helicopters, including Soviet-made Mi-8/17 and Mi-24, as well as French-made Aérospatiale Gazelles, also remains operational, but many of them were put in service with other branches of the military.
The Su-22s will not add anything meaningful to the capabilities of the air force, and the step was likely made just for promotional purposes.
Overall, the decision not to allow former SyAAF staff to join the new air force, the lack of meaningful funds, the absence of any solid international relations, and the threat posed by Israel will likely leave Syria without any meaningful air force for the long term. This plays in favor of both Turkey and Israel.
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