Little is known, about the four Su-30SM Flanker-derivative jets deployed to Latakia, Syria.
In fact, whilst the rest of the Russian Air Force contingent (Su-34, Su-24 and Su-25 jets) has been under the spotlight since Russia launched its first raids against terrorist targets, the Su-30s have seldom been mentioned in the news updates by the Russian MoD.
Actually, the most interesting news dealing the Su-30s dates back to the beginning of the month when one Flanker violated the Turkish airspace and locked on a TuAF F-16 for more than 5 minutes.
More recently, footage emerged of a Su-30SM flying close to an MQ-9 Reaper drone.
At least there is a video now, published by RT, that provides some details about the Flanker operations in Syria.
The video, which includes some cockpit footage, shows the Su-30s taxiing, taking off and landing at al-Assad airport near Latakia.
Interestingly, the aircraft operate in air-to-air configuration only, confirming the reports that the aircraft mainly fly CAPs (Combat Air Patrols), providing some support to the strike packages going after the ground targets disclosed by UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) reconnaissance missions.
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