Syrian forces shoot down Turkish fighter, Turkey vows to retaliate

[archibaldcrane]

Wait, did a war just start in Syria? Is NATO bombing shit?

[Ashmada]

Not to my knowledge, no. Ol' Bashie just started calling his little domestic situation a war. He's not too bothered about that stuff with Tayyip.

[Cail]

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's military says it scrambled fighter jets to its border on Saturday after Syrian helicopters flew too close to the frontier.

A military statement Sunday said F-16 jets were scrambled, and sent to the border after the helicopters flew in the area on at least three occasions.

The military did not report that any direct confrontation had taken place.

The jets were scrambled days after Turkey said it would treat any Syrian military unit approaching its border as a direct threat in response to the downing of a Turkish reconnaissance plane by Syrian forces on June 22.

Turkey has also reinforced its border with anti-aircraft guns and other weapons.

The military said the helicopters flew as close as 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) to the Turkish border.

.

[Mayareira]

It is absolutely amazing to me that these are still in use. Also says something about the state of Turkey's Air Force. And as to why their air space has
been violated as much as it has been.

I seriously can't get over that. The F-4 was rolled out in the late 50's or very early 60's. We're talking about a plane design that's over 50 years old. Are they sure it didn't just fall apart in midair?

Take B-52 example, its even older than F-4's and the US Air Force have been using them for how long now, 50-60 years? And they are expected to be in service until 2040...that'll make the design almost 90 years old. Fighter jets and other military equipment aren't exactly like graphics card or processors, you don't dump/upgrade them in 2-3 years and even when you renew stuff, you use your older stuff for reconnaissance or other stuff. TAF uses F-4's for scouting and training purposes.

A well-maintained fighter jet can last that long, its normal and they've seen a couple of upgrades since then. German, Japanese, Korean, Greek air forces also use F-4's. When it comes to fighter jets age hardly indicates their efficiency, important point is that if they are useful or not in whatever they do.

Anyway, Syria's move was very cheap and shows how paranoid they are. This type of incidents always happen, each day probably about 500-1000 plans "violate" some country airspace by mistake. General procedure in this case is basically to warn the pilot.

[guartz]

Wait, did a war just start in Syria? Is NATO bombing shit?

That's what it sounds like, doesn't it?

[Byrthnoth]

This type of incidents always happen, each day probably about 500-1000 plans "violate" some country airspace by mistake. General procedure in this case is basically to warn the pilot.

This is not what The A-Team movie taught me.

[Cail]

http://news.yahoo.com/syria-running-...050836605.html

http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-s...051823539.html

[Cail]

http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-army-at...090435113.html