2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown

A shootdown of a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber aircraft by a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet occurred near the Syria–Turkey border on 24 November 2015. According to Turkey, the aircraft was fired upon while in Turkish airspace because it violated the border up to a depth of 1.36 mi for about 17 seconds after being warned to change its heading 10 times over a period of five minutes. The Turkish government also said that it did not know the nationality of the aircraft at the time of the incident. The Russia Defence Ministry denied the aircraft ever left Syrian airspace, counter-claiming that their satellite data showed that the Sukhoi was about 1000 m inside Syrian airspace when it was shot down. An anonymous US defence official said the aircraft was shot down in Syrian airspace after being in Turkish airspace for two to three seconds; the US military spokesperson in Iraq, Colonel Steve Warren, stated that warning was given to the Russian aircraft prior to engagement. President Putin claimed that they had given the downed plane's flight plan to US officials before it took off; this was denied by the US officials.

The Russian pilot and weapon systems officer both ejected from the aircraft. The weapon systems officer was rescued; the pilot was shot and killed in mid-air in his parachute by Syrian Turkmen rebels. A Russian naval infantryman from the search-and-rescue team launched to retrieve the two airmen was also killed when a rescue helicopter was shot down by the rebels. The shootdown was the first destruction of a Russian or Soviet Air Forces warplane by a NATO member state since the 1950s. Reactions to the incident included harsh denunciation from Russia and an attempt to defuse the situation by NATO afterwards. Russia deployed the guided missile cruiser Moskva armed with S-300F (SA-N-6 Grumble) long-range SAM missiles off the Syrian coast near Latakia and S-400 (SA-21 Growler) mobile SAM systems to Khmeimim Air Base.

Background
After the 2012 shooting down of a Turkish jet by Syrian forces, Turkey changed its rules of engagement and said it would consider all "military elements" approaching from Syria an enemy threat and would act accordingly. Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan said that brief incursions should not trigger an attack.

Russia is one of several countries directly involved in the Syrian conflict. On 30 September 2015, Russia began its air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other anti-government forces.

In early October, Turkey and NATO protested against what they saw as Russia's deliberate violations of Turkish airspace. The Russian Defence Ministry admitted that a Russian Su-30 aircraft had entered Turkish airspace "for a few seconds" because of bad weather, adding that measures had been taken to prevent a repeat of such incidents. From 3–15 October, five discussions between senior ranking officials from Turkey and Russia occurred, concerning Turkish rules of engagement and Russian violations of Turkish airspace. On 19 November, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov and the Russian military attaché Colonel Andrei Victorovich Dovger were summoned by Turkey. Russia, who was criticised by Turkey for having conducted operations near the Turkish border, a region inhabited by Syrian Turkmen and largely free of ISIL (though al-Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, is present in the region), was notified that Turkey's rules of engagement were in place and it would react to any violations of its border security. Russia was also warned Turkey would not be indifferent to "attacks targeting the life security of Turkmen" in the Bayırbucak area. The preceding week Turkey had called for the UN Security Council to discuss attacks against Turkish-backed Turkmens. Approximately 1,700 people had fled the area in the previous three days due to battles between Syrian government forces and anti-government Syrian Turkmen and al-Nusra Front fighters. Russia has bombed the area near the Turkish border to support Syrian government forces. Syrian Turkmen formed their own armed brigades in opposition to the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, loosely affiliated with other rebels such as the Free Syrian Army. The Turkmen brigades also cooperate with the al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front and the Salafi coalition known as Ahrar al-Sham. In Latakia the Turkish-supported rebels formed the Jabal al-Turkman Brigade.

Shootdown


On 24 November 2015 at 9:24 am, as it was returning to Khmeimim Air Base, a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber aircraft was shot down near the Syrian-Turkey border by a AIM-9X Sidewinder missile from a patrolling Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet. The Economist mentioned that the two Su-24s were on their way to strike Syrian Turkmen targets. Syrian government forces supported by the Shiite militias and the Russian air force were fighting against Syrian Turkmen brigades, Army of Conquest and al-Nusra Front fighters.

Early reports from Russian news agencies citing the Russian Defence Ministry, indicated that the aircraft had been downed by a ground-based strike from Syrian Turkmen rebels, but they later confirmed Turkish reports that the aircraft had been downed by Turkish fighter jets. CNN Türk reported that the Turkish military had released a graphic of the Russian aircraft's flight pattern, which shows it crossing the southern tip of Hatay Province before being shot down and crashing near Turkmen Mountain.

According to Turkey's statement to the UN Security Council, two aircraft, whose nationalities were unknown at the time, violated Turkish airspace up to a depth of 1.36 mi for about 17 seconds. According to Turkish officials, the aircraft were given 10 warnings within the span of 5 minutes to change their course. Turkey later released the audio recording ("The unknown air traffic position to Humaymim 020 Radial 26 Miles... This is Turkish Air Force speaking on guard. You are approaching Turkish Air Space, change your heading south immediately," according to Turkey's Doğan News Agency (DHA) and Milliyet and Haberturk newspapers ) where the warning "This is Turkish Air Force on Guard. You are approaching Turkish air space. Change your heading south immediately." is heard several times. The Russians claim there were no warnings. An analyst has noted that Turkey's radio warnings were issued on a dedicated mutually agreed radio channel and the international Guard (emergency) channel (243.0/121.5 MHz), but the Su-24M is not able to monitor this channel without optional radio equipment, which may not have been installed. According to Turkey one aircraft left Turkish national airspace after violating it and the other aircraft was subsequently fired upon by Turkish F-16s patrolling the area and crashed into Syrian territory after being hit in Turkish airspace. Based on its heat signature, an anonymous American official stated that the jet was hit in Syrian airspace after a short incursion into Turkey, but did not reference its location when it was fired upon.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the Su-24 was downed from an altitude of 6000 m within one kilometre of the Turkish border and in Syrian airspace, while returning to the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria. Russia has maintained that the aircraft never left Syrian territory. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the aircraft was a Su-24 but said that it had proof the jet was within Syrian airspace. According to the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Viktor Bondarev, a Turkish F-16 entered Syria's airspace for 40 seconds and went 2 kilometres inside Syrian territory, but the Russian bomber did not violate the Turkish border.

Casualties
Both pilots ejected after the aircraft was hit. It was reported that one of the pilots was captured by Turkmen Syrian opposition fighters in Syria. The fighters who were videotaping the pilot's body shouted things such as "Allah Akbar" and a video allegedly showing his body was circulated. Initially, the deputy commander of a Turkmen rebel brigade in Syria, later identified as Alparslan Çelik, a Turkish citizen and member of the Grey Wolves ultra-nationalist group, claimed his forces shot dead the two pilots as they descended with parachutes, while a Turkish official believed that both were alive. Russia's military general staff spokesman Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi confirmed that one pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Anatolyevich Peshkov, was killed by ground fire; the other pilot, who was the navigator, was rescued.

The shooting of an ejecting aircraft pilot is in contravention of the Geneva Convention's Article 42. RT journalist Roman Kosarev, who himself was under attack on the same day in Latakia, was the first to interview the rescued pilot.

The pilot of Su-24, Oleg Peshkov, 45, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, while the surviving weapon systems officer, Konstantin Murakhtin, and the killed rescuer, Alexander Pozynych, received the Order of Courage.

Search and rescue
The Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency showed the initial video footage of the aircraft crashing and the two pilots parachuting down. Russian helicopters conducted low-altitude combat search and rescue flights in the area to look for the pilot. As the Russian armed forces began planning an operation to extract the Su-24 pilot, General Qasem Soleimani contacted them and proposed that a special task force unit be formed of Hezbollah's special forces and Syrian commandos who had been trained by Iran and were familiar with the geography of the region to be tasked with the ground operations for the pilot's rescue, with Russia providing transport, logistical support, air cover and satellite intelligence. The team of 26 special forces commandos which General Soleimani put forth consisted of 8 Hezbollah special forces personnel and 18 Syrian special forces commandos.

Two Mil Mi-8 helicopters were sent to find and recover the pilots from the crash site. One of the helicopters was damaged by small-arms fire from Syrian Turkmen Brigade militants, resulting in the death of a naval infantryman, and was forced to make an emergency landing. All the surviving crew of the helicopter were rescued and evacuated later on. The Free Syrian Army's 1st Coastal Brigade claimed that they subsequently destroyed the abandoned helicopter using a US-made BGM-71 TOW missile.

Aftermath
On 25 November, the foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey spoke for an hour by telephone, and both governments stated that day that they would not initiate a war as a result of the incident. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists that his country would "seriously reevaluate" its relationship with Turkey. The Russian Defence Ministry broke off military contacts with the Turkish Armed Forces and Russian defence officials said that future airstrikes in Syria would be escorted by fighters. According to the Russian Minister of Defence Sergey Shoygu, Russia will deploy S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to Khmeimim Air Base in Syria, where the Russian Aerospace Forces group is stationed.

Involved parties
A few hours after the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke from Sochi, where he was meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, saying that it was a "stab in the back by terrorist accomplices," that Russia would not put up with attacks like this one and that Russia–Turkey relations would be affected. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was due to visit Turkey the next day to discuss, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was due to visit Russia later in the year. Lavrov canceled his trip after the incident. Lieutenant General Sergey Rudskoy said that forces threatening Russia would be targeted. Protesters pelted the Turkish embassy in Russia with eggs before police cleared the area. On 26 November, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced broad economic sanctions against Turkey that would affect their joint investment projects, including the possible shelving of a multibillion-dollar deal to build Turkish Stream gas pipeline through Turkey. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that Turkey would regret its actions. Russian President Putin accused Turkey of helping Islamic State in the illegal oil trade, saying that funds from the sale of oil were used to support terrorists. The Russian Air Force had recently started bombing the oil tankers en route to other countries, including Turkey, and the infrastructure for processing and storage of crude oil. A bill penalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide has been introduced in the Russian State Duma.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said the shooting would be added to the criminal record of insurgent groups fighting in the country and of those countries that were financing and arming them; he mentioned Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as the strongest such backers.

Erdogan pointed out that Turkey had the right to defend its airspace. He said worse incidents have not taken place in the past because of Turkey's restraint. He also stressed that Turkey's actions were fully in line with the new rules of engagement adopted after Syria shot down a Turkish jet in 2012. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu offered condolences and said the Turkish pilots did not know it was a Russian plane. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu defended the action saying Turkey has the right to defend itself against border violations, but that it did not amount to an aggression against any foreign territory and the country called for NATO to hold an extraordinary meeting later in the day. He further called for working towards solving the crisis in Syria. Davutoğlu also said that attacks on Turkmen could not be legitimised under the justification of attacking ISIL. Turkey's Ambassador to the United States, Serdar Kilic, asked for Turkey's warnings to be taken seriously. Davutoglu said Turkey would cooperate but did not offer an apology. Dozens of protesters were reported outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul demonstrating against Russian military operations in the Turkmen-populated areas of Syria. On 28 November 2015, Turkish President Erdogan expressed regret over the aircraft downing. Despite Erdogan's statement of regret, Russian President Putin issued a decree within hours of Turkey's statement which placed a ban on trade of some goods, forbade extensions of labour contracts for Turks working in Russia as of 1 January 2016, ended chartered flights from Russia to Turkey, disallowed Russian tourism companies from selling holiday packages with a stay in Turkey, and called for ending visa-free travel between Russia and Turkey, while ordering tighter control over Turkish air carriers in Russia, using security as a justification.

Russia started bombarding rebels – including Turkmen insurgents – in Latakia, ignoring demands made by Turkey over the previous week to end its military operations close to the Turkish border. A Turkmen commander said missiles fired from Russian warships in the Mediterranean were also hitting the area. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that as soon as the pilot was rescued the groups responsible for the attack had been killed by Russian bombing and Syrian government rocket artillery. A Turkish supply convoy, reportedly carrying small arms, machine-guns and ammunition, was bombed by what is believed to have been Russian airstrikes in the northwestern town of Azaz, in north-western Syria. Claimed as an aid convoy by the Turks, no organization has as yet confirmed that the convoy belonged to them. At least seven people died and ten people were injured as around 20 trucks went up in flames. Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency accused Russia of supporting the Kurdish YPG, PYD and Syrian Democratic Forces.

On 26 November, Russia deployed the guided missile cruiser Moskva armed with S-300F (SA-N-6 Grumble) long-range SAM missiles positioned off Latakia, off the Syrian coast and S-400 (SA-21 Growler) mobile SAM systems to Khmeimim Air Base. The Russian military warned it would shoot down any aerial target that posed a threat to its planes.

On 26 November, the Russian Ministry of Defence broke off contact with the Turkish military. All existing channels of communication between the two sides have been shut down, the ministry said.

On 27 November, Russia announced that it had also suspended its participation in joint Black Sea naval drills indefinitely. The Russian navy's envoy in charge of coordinating the actions of Russia's Black Sea Fleet with the Turkish navy has reportedly been recalled.

On 27 November, Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Moscow will halt the existing visa-free regime starting on 1 January, saying that Turkey has become a conduit for terrorists and has been reluctant to share information with Moscow about Russian citizens accused of involvement in terrorist activities.

On 28 November, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree imposing economic sanctions against Turkey. The decree, which came into force immediately, banned charter flights from Russia to Turkey, prevented tour firms selling holidays there, and outlawed some Turkish imports, and halted or curbed the economic activities of Turkish firms and nationals.

International organizations

 * : President of the European Council Donald Tusk called upon Turkey and Russia to stay calm; he was supported by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, following her meeting with Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, who urged both parties to avoid escalation.
 * : Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg backed Turkey's assessment of the engagement and said: "We stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of our NATO ally, Turkey", and called for both sides to de-escalate the situation.

Other countries

 * : Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian said it was a blow to efforts to fight terrorism.
 * : President Ilham Aliyev claimed that Azerbaijan was ready to make efforts to reduce and eliminate tension in Turkish-Russian relations.
 * : The office of President Nicos Anastasiades stated that the shootdown would undermine efforts to fight terrorism.
 * : President Miloš Zeman said Turkey’s attack on the jet again fuels previously-raised suspicions that Ankara is supporting the terrorists in Syria. “Sometimes, a suspicion is voiced that Turkey is informally interacting” with ISIL, while Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek called for better co-ordination among those fighting in the region.
 * : President François Hollande called the plane incident "a serious one" and said that Turkey is providing information to NATO to investigate the circumstances. He also called for the prevention of any escalation of the situation.
 * : Defense minister Tinatin Khidasheli has said that Turkey has every right to respond to airspace violations by Russia. Furthermore, she said that Russia had deliberately violated the airspace of NATO and EU member states in recent months, despite repeated warnings. Also, she noted that Turkey is an important and respected partner and player in today's world.
 * : Chancellor Angela Merkel said that countries have the right to defend their airspace, but the event took place against a context of tension, and that she had spoken to the Turkish prime minister in an effort to promote calm. German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel called Turkish actions unpredictable. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for "prudence and common sense" in response to the incident and that Syria peace talks in Vienna should not be derailed.
 * : Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias expressed solidarity with Russia in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Popular Unity leader Panagiotis Lafazanis was refused permission by police to deliver a speech directed to Erdoğan, stating that the international community was disturbed by the event. Protesters burned US and Turkish flags at Syntagma Square as they marched towards the Turkish embassy. They also claimed that Turkey violated Greek airspace almost daily. Turkey violated Greek airspace 2,244 times in 2014 alone.
 * : Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry urged both countries to show restraint.
 * : President Hassan Rouhani said that Russia and Turkey should discuss with a view to avoiding further such incidents. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif added that the recent escalation of tensions between Russia and Turkey could be settled through mutual discretion and prudence. General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a revolutionary guards adviser to the Ayatollah Ali Khameini, said that the shooting was a "tactical mistake."
 * Vice President Nouri al-Maliki accused Turkey of hypocrisy, saying that "[Turkey’s] planes violate Iraqi and Syrian airspace every day".
 * An Israeli military official stated that Israel would not shoot down any Russian aircraft which overflew Israeli territory because "Russia is not an enemy".
 * : Minister of Defence Raimonds Bergmanis told LNT television that NATO allies are united with Turkey, who had the right to protect its airspace. He added that there is much evidence regarding breaches of Turkish airspace carried out by Russian military aircraft.
 * : Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius supported Turkey's right to defend itself.
 * : A few days later, the Foreign Office expressed concerns about the ongoing tensions between Turkey and Russia and recommended that the two countries should negotiate.
 * : President Tomislav Nikolić said that the incident was the fault of Turkey and that Turkey often violated Greek and Syrian airspace.
 * : National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said that the Turkish Air Force acted professionally as any civilised country should operate when its sovereign space is violated by another state's warplane. He added that Ukraine should shoot down Russian jets if they violate Ukraine's airspace too.
 * British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the incident was potentially serious but also said that Turkey was an important ally of the United Kingdom and European Union. When asked by British opposition Labour MP Dennis Skinner whether Turkey could still be considered an ally, Hammond said that Turkey is an important NATO ally in the context of the fight against ISIL and the migration crisis.
 * : President Barack Obama assured his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a phone call, of support for his country's right to defend its sovereignty and that it was important to find out exactly what had happened and to prevent escalation. Department of State Spokesperson Mark Toner stated that Syrian Turkmen under attack have the right to self-defence. The United States announced a list of new economic sanctions on Russian and Syrian individuals and companies.

Financial markets
The MICEX and RTS Index, and Borsa Istanbul fell over 1%. The Turkish lira also dropped following news of the shootdown.

Broader European stock markets fell as a result of the shooting.