If they’re flying from Ossetia, then they’re flying over Turkish air space to get to Syria. Wonder if Putin asked first...
“If they’re flying from Ossetia, then they’re flying over Turkish air space to get to Syria. Wonder if Putin asked first...”
They were reported to have used Iranian and Iraqi airspace, which is doable, without Turkish overflight.
That may be cover for the Turks - and therefor NATO, including the US (who has fighters in Turkey, capable of interdicting bombers), if they have agreed to sell out their former “moderate rebels” to be killed. The West does seem to have dropped those Rebel groups like a hot potatoe, withdrawing their trainers, and re-assigning them to groups in the East
The deal may be that the Russians have to refrain from real efforts to destroy ISIS, until they can exfiltrate their important assets to their stronghold of Mosul across the border.
The Russians have a carrot and stick approach in the West, inviting rebels to come back to the side of Assad, which will probably start happening to some degree.
If they get away with introducing their bombers with some relatively light cruise missile attacks, then the camel’s nose is under the tent for heavy bomb loads later.
No they are flying the Caspian Sea route over Iran and Iraq with permission of those countries. The Iranians are also escorting the bombers through their airspace with F-14 Tomcats and F-4 Phantoms. See video at 1:13 and 1:20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ascSnBbxfaU