Syrian rebels claims shooting down of Russian drone over Zawiya Mountain

The Turkey-backed rebels unit, known as the Al-Fatah al-Mubin, says it has shot down a Russian Orlan-10 unmanned aircraft over the strategic Zawiya Mountain, in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.

In a statement released on social media, the Al-Fatah al-Mubin group claimed it had shot down the Orlan-10 medium-range, multipurpose unmanned aerial vehicle using machine guns.

The Orlan-10 is an unmanned aerial system developed by Russian firm Special Technology Center LLC in St Petersburg. The drone is in service with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

- ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW -

It is intended for a variety of missions including aerial reconnaissance, observation, monitoring, search and rescue, combat training, jamming, detection of radio signals, and target tracking.

The group said the plane had been carrying out an aerial reconnaissance mission over the strategic Zawiya Mountain. Zawiya Mountain has strategic importance as it overlooks the M4 highway connecting Aleppo and Latakia.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Syrian military sources, in turn, said the Russian Orlan-10 drone crashed in Idlib province for technical reasons. Also stated that it is the second unmanned aircraft of this model to crash in two days.

If you would like to show your support for what we are doing, here's where to do it.

If you wish to report grammatical or factual errors within our news articles, you can let us know by using the online feedback form.

Executive Editor

About author:

Dylan Malyasov
Dylan Malyasov
Dylan Malyasov is the editor-in-chief of Defence Blog. He is a journalist, an accredited defense advisor, and a consultant. His background as a defense advisor and consultant adds a unique perspective to his journalistic endeavors, ensuring that his reporting is well-informed and authoritative. read more

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

TRENDING NOW

Ukrainian F-16 reportedly shoots down second Russian Su-34

Reports from Russian military bloggers and aviation sources suggest that a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber was downed under mysterious circumstances early this morning. Russian sources close...