Russia deploys additional Su-34s to Syria

Russia has further bolstered its strike capability in Syria by deploying another four Su-34 aircraft to the Humaymim Air Base in Latakia province, Airbus Defence and Space imagery captured on 7 December shows.
The deployment, which happened sometime after 1 December, brings the number of Su-34s in Syria up to eight. Russia also has 11 Su-24M tactical bombers, 12 Su-25 attack aircraft, four Su-30SM multirole fighters, and an Il-20M electronic intelligence (ELINT) platform at the base. A 12th Su-24M was shot down by a Turkish F-16 on 24 November.
Russian responded to that incident by deploying an S-400 strategic surface-to-air missile (SAM) battery. The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) released photographs of two 5P85SM launchers at the base on 26 November. The satellite imagery from 1 December shows another two S-400 launchers had arrived by that date, but not the 92N6 engagement radar needed to form an operational system.
janes