Syrian Air Force Managed to Restore at Least Two Su-22s

The Syrian Air Force is demonstrating the combat readiness of at least two Su-22s (an export variant of the Soviet Su-17) by conducting training flights.

This is reported by analyst Hassan.

The video shows a pair of Su-22M3/M4s which, as the video’s author notes, are flying over northern Syria.

According to The Military Balance, in 2024 the Syrian Air Force had 20 Su-22M3/M4s at its disposal.

Syria received its first 15 Su-20 aircraft (an earlier export version of the Su-17) from the Soviet Union in 1973, of which it lost 8 that same year during the war with Israel.

Additional batches, including Su-22M-3s, were delivered by the USSR in 1983, followed by at least 42 Su-22M-4Ks, which arrived between 1984 and 1985. During that same period, Syrian industry upgraded all remaining Su-22Ms to the Su-22M-2K standard.

By 2010, when the government allocated sufficient funding to begin a gradual modernization of the entire fleet, only 7 Su-22M-2s, 12 Su-22M-3s, 24 Su-22M-4Ks, 5 Su-22UM-2Ks, and 4–5 Su-22UM-4Ks remained, for a total of 52–53 aircraft.

The first confirmed loss of a Syrian Air Force Su-22 since the start of the civil war was recorded on February 14, 2013, when rebel forces shot it down using a man-portable air defense system (MANPADS).

Although the regime carried out major overhauls on several more aircraft in 2014, by mid-2015 only about a dozen Su-22s remained fully combat-ready. After three years of intense combat operations, the units operating them had not only exhausted their bomb stocks but had even run out of spare external fuel tanks.

By mid-2016, the Syrians had about 30 Su-22 aircraft of various modifications at their disposal, deployed in three squadrons at the Tiyas, Shayrat, and Dmeir air bases.

On July 24, 2018, a Syrian Air Force Su-22 that had violated Israeli airspace was shot down by two Israeli Patriot missiles. In 2019, rebels shot down a Su-22 using a 23 mm ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun.

Most of the aircraft remaining after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime were in storage and unfit for flight. It is currently unknown exactly how many aircraft and of what types the new government has managed to preserve and restore.

In December 2024, rebels seized SA342 Gazelle helicopters equipped with anti-tank missiles at the Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus, and in January 2025, former Syrian rebels from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group began forming aviation units for training flights and patrolling the area.

In March 2025, the army of the new Syrian government deployed its air force for the first time—specifically, Mi-24 attack helicopters—in battles against remnants of pro-government forces.

The new Syrian government sent a Su-22 into the air for the first time on September 7, 2025, from Shayrat Air Base.

The exercises are taking place following the graduation on July 26 of the first 1,000 cadets from the Air Force College, trained after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

On August 9, Syria and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the reorganization of Moscow’s military presence in the country, specifically concerning the Hmeimim Air Base near Latakia and the naval base in Tartus.