The Syrian Air Power (SYAF), formally the Syrian Arab Air Power, operates three Ilyushin IL-76T (NATO: Candid) heavy carry transport plane: YK-ATA, YK-ATB, and YK-ATD (proven high to backside). A fourth plane (YK-ATC) has not been operational for nearly 30 years.
These are older pictures – all three plane are in want of depot-level upkeep, improve, and overhaul. This
is completed at on the Ilyushin facility in Ramenskoye, Russia. Primarily based on publicly accessible flight monitoring info, YK-ATD was overhauled in 2016, YK-ATB in 2018, and YK-ATA in 2019.
I believe that YK-ATD is in dire want of main upkeep – it has not flown since November 24, 2022, after which just for a brief home flight. It seems to have turn into what we within the U.S. Air Power discuss with as a “hangar queen.”
Don’t let the colourful livery of SYRIANAIR (Syrian Airways) idiot you – I’ve flown on each SYRIANAIR and with the SYAF – they’re totally different. One is a second-tier Center East airline with nice passenger service, and the opposite is a third-rate air drive transport operation that apprehensive me. I’ve flown on SYAF Antonov AN-24 (NATO: Coke), Tupolev TU-134 (NATO: Crusty), and Yakovlev YAK-40 (NATO: Codling) plane – the situation of the YAK-40 and AN-24 was far beneath U.S. Air Power requirements.
The three IL-76 plane are literally assigned to the 585th Transport Squadron of the Syrian Air Power twenty ninth Air Transport Brigade, primarily based at Damascus Worldwide Airport.
The army ramp on the airport is southwest of the civilian terminal. I’ve been on the twenty ninth Brigade ramp a couple of occasions to catch attaché flights on the extraordinarily uncommon events when the Syrians included American officers in official attaché journeys.
These transports have been inbuilt 1980 (YK-ATA and YK-ATB) and 1981 (YK-ATD) – I bear in mind them within the authentic IL-76MD (army) configuration, full with tail weapons. Within the early 2000s, all have been transformed to their present IL-76T configuration.
Over the previous few years, the Syrian IL-76’s made virtually every day resupply flights to the regime-controlled enclave of al-Qamishly in northeast Syria, and virtually every day flights to Mehrabad airport in Tehran, Iran. From time to time, one of many plane would fly to/from Moscow.
That sample has modified a bit.
I’ve observed a large improve of SYAF IL-76 flights between Damascus Worldwide Airport (learn that as twenty ninth Air Brigade) and Benghazi/Beninah Worldwide Airport (coincidentally additionally an air base at which SYAF fighter pilots have been assigned to assist Mu’amar al-Qadhafi within the Nineteen Seventies). It’s within the space of Libya managed by Subject Marshal Khalifah Haftar’s Libyan Nationwide Military (LNA).
Syrian media reported that Haftar’s armed forces have airlifted aid provides to victims of the February 6 earthquakes which have devastated a part of northern Syria. A few of that assist was delivered by LNA plane to the Russian-leased Humaymim air base south of Latakia.
Trying over publicly accessible flight data for the previous three months, an attention-grabbing worldwide flight sample emerges.
YK-ATA has flown 13 round-trip flights between Damascus, Syria and Benghazi, Libya, which appears to be its major route. It did fly to Moscow thrice, Beirut as soon as, and as soon as to, for no matter motive, Oral in northwestern Kazakhstan.
YK-ATB flew seven round-trip flights between Damascus, Syria and Benghazi, Libya. It additionally flew to Tehran/Mehrabad airport, utilizing a ramp devoted solely to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), 4 occasions. Moreover, it was used not less than six occasions for the routine home flight from Damascus to al-Qamishly.
Within the final 90 days for the Syrian Air Power, there have been not less than:
• 20 spherical journey flights to Benghazi, Libya (most earlier than the earthquake)
• 4 spherical journey flights to Tehran/Mehrabad, Iran
• 3 spherical journey flights to Moscow/Vnukovo, Russia
• 1 spherical journey flight to Beirut, Lebanon
• 1 spherical journey flight to Oral, Kazakhstan
I’m puzzled by the variety of flights to Libya, particularly to the realm managed by Khalifah Haftar. If anybody has any perception into the connection between Syrian President Bashar al-Asad and Khalifah Haftar, please inform me.
I’ll observe that after the earthquakes that created catastrophic harm in northern Syria, all return flights from Benghazi to Syria stopped first in Latakia, and in not less than one case in Aleppo, each areas which have suffered catastrophic earthquake harm. I’ve to imagine that these plane have been transporting aid provides from Benghazi.
My query: What have been the Syrian IL-76 plane shifting between Damascus and Benghazi earlier than the earthquake?
