The first Russian combat aircraft began leaving Syria on 15 March a day after President Vladimir Putin announced the withdrawal of some Russian forces in Syria.
Videos released by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and various media channels showed three Su-34 strike aircraft, eight Su-25s in two batches of four, and three Su-24Ms leaving Humaymim Air Base in Latakia province between 15 to16 March.
An Su-30SM fighter was also seen taking off, but it was carrying air-to-air missiles and no fuel tanks, suggesting it was going on a routine patrol or escorting other aircraft out of Syrian airspace.
The departure of 14 strike aircraft marked a 35% reduction on the 40 fixed-wing combat aircraft that satellite imagery showed were present at Humaymim on 31 January.
However, the footage emerging from Humaymim revealed that Russia has deployed additional attack helicopters to the base. An Mil Mi-38N Night Hunter and a Kamov Ka-52 Alligator were seen for the first time in footage broadcast respectively by Reuters and Russia’s Star TV Channel on 17 March.
The Ka-52 did not have its rotor blades attached, suggesting it had either recently arrived on a transport aircraft or was about to be loaded back on to one.
Russia generally operates attack helicopters in pairs, so the presence of a Mi-28N and a Ka-52 suggests another four have been deployed in addition to at least four Mi-35Ms that are known to have arrived earlier in the year and were later deployed to Al-Shayrat Air Base. The Russian helicopter deployment to Humaymim in September 2015 included at least 14 Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters.
Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, downplayed the significance of the Russian drawdown. “There’s been a relatively minor withdrawal of air combat power,” he said during a briefing on 16 March.
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