Stratford57
Diamond Member
- Thread starter
- #41
And, of course, if the Russian jet was within Turkish airspace at the time of the launch, then it was a 'righteous shoot', yes?Thank you.The Russian bomber never entered Turkish air space. The Russian aircraft was hit by an air-to-air missile from an F-16. The most current long range air-to-air missile for the F-16s is the AIM-120. It's a "fire and forget" missile, so I doubt it has any "self-destruct" capability.
The flight recorder data will provide all the necessary navigation information that will conclusively prove or disprove the air space incursion issue.
Correction... no missile battery crew and chain-of-command was involved.
However, we do not know where the Russian plane was, when the air-to-air missile shot was fired, do we?
We will know exactly where the Russian bomber was at the time of impact and whether it ever crossed into Turkish air space. The location of the Russian bomber at the time of the missile launch can only be extrapolated without additional data.
It would be a legal shoot, but not at all kosher for countries that are not at war. If that were the case, the Greeks would be shooting down Turkish jets on a daily basis.
But, the Russian bomber never ventured into Turkish air space. The flight data recorder will prove that. That's why they are allowing the British to read and present the data.
3 minute full interview with Russian pilot of SU-24 Konstantin Murakhtin after been rescued. He claims his plane did not violate Turkish airspace:
The Russian pilot rescued after his jet was shot down by Turkey has vowed to keep flying missions as “payback” for his dead colleague.
Captain Konstantin Murakhtin said he would continue flying for Russia over Syria despite Tuesday's ordeal.
He was rescued from a remote forest by Russian special forces overnight on Tuesday after he parachuted to safety out of the stricken jet.
His co-pilot Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov was killed by Syrian rebels.
Now, Captain Murakhtin says he wants to continue flying missions for Russia as "payback" for his colleague.
Speaking to Russian TV, he said he could not wait to return to flying "to pay them back for my commander".
He also said there were no warnings before they were struck out of the sky.
Captain Murakhtin told a Russian TV station that his plane was flying over Syrian territory and did not violate Turkish airspace as the first picture of the pilot emerged on social media.
Speaking for the first timesince the incident, Mr Murakhtin said he knew the region like the back of his hand and "couldn't possibly have flown into Turkish airspace".
Russian jet pilot vows 'payback' for commander killed after plane was shot down