IAF F-16I Sufa that crashed in Syria likely to be shot down by S-125 surface to air missile

[UPDATED] IAF F-16I SUFA THAT CRASHED IN SYRIA ALLEGEDLY SHOT DOWN BY S-125 SURFACE TO AIR MISSILE

By Dario Leone
Feb 11 2018
Share this article

The F-16I shoot down came after an Israeli AH-64 Apache combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian UAV launched from Syria that infiltrated the country’s airspace early Saturday

The impressive main image of this post shows the wreckage of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16I Sufa that crashed on Feb. 10, 2018 after coming under “massive anti-aircraft fire” from Syrian forces.

As reported by CNN the incident came after an Israeli AH-64 Apache combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launched from Syria that infiltrated the country’s airspace early Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

Both pilots aboard the Israeli jet are safe although one of them was severely injured as a result of an emergency evacuation from the plane.

According Global Military Strategy & Statistics Facebook page the F-16I was shot down by an upgraded S-125 surface to air missile (NATO reporting name SA-3 Goa). Noteworthy on Mar. 17, 2015, a U.S. MQ-1 Predator drone was shot down by a Syrian Air Defense Force S-125 missile while on intelligence flight near the coastal town of Latakia.

The IDS said the crash happened as Israeli forces attacked 12 targets in Syria, including three aerial defense batteries and four targets described as Iranian.IAF F-16I Sufa that crashed in Syria likely to be shot down by S-125 surface to air missile

According the IDF statement the four Iranian targets as “part of Iran’s military establishment in Syria. The IDF will act determinately against such severe violations of Israeli sovereignty by Iran and Syria and will continue to act as necessary.”

Syrian state news agency SANA claimed that Syrian air defense forces had responded Saturday to what they called an Israeli “aggression” by hitting more than one Israeli plane, following attacks on a Syrian military base by Israel military aircraft.

“The Israeli enemy entity early morning at dawn conducted a new aggression against one of the military bases in the central region,” SANA said.

IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus told CNN that the cause of the F-16I crash is being investigated and that only one Israeli aircraft had come down, with all others returning safely to base.

He said in a tweet that “Iran is responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty.”

Update: as brought to our attention by Ajeeb Ebrahim, a reader of The Aviation Geek Club, IAF chief Tomer Bar revealed to Ynetnews that his service conjecture on the F-16I Sufa that was shot down by anti-aircraft fire on Saturday morning is that Syrian forces used a Russian made SA-5 Gammon medium-to-high altitude surface-to-air missile to intercept the Israeli aircraft. Stay tuned for additional updates if further details on this story had to come to light!IAF F-16I Sufa that crashed in Syria likely to be shot down by S-125 surface to air missile

Photo credit: Global Military Strategy & Statistics Facebook page


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices