Reconstitution of ‘ancient’ Assad-era aircraft in Syria alarms Israel
Israeli officials have concerns over Syria rebuilding its air force despite analysts being confident that the Assad era aircraft don’t threaten the country, The New Arab and agencies report on August 12th.
In a video posted on August 10th, footage showed what appeared to be two Syrian Sukhoi SU-22 aircraft in flight over the northwest province of Idlib.
Designed in the 1960s by the Soviet Union, these aircraft are the remains of the since deposed Baathist government who governed Syria from 1963 to 2024. In July 2026, during a graduation ceremony for 1,000 Syrian air force cadets, a Czech-built L-39 trainer aircraft from the 1960s was also flown.
Kan, a public broadcaster in Israel said the US were aware of Israel’s concerns over the use of this technology and of Turkey’s air defence systems moving into Syria.
In a statement to the New Arab, a senior analyst for Syria at the International Crisis Group, Nanar Hawach said that “Israel can probably live with a Syrian air force of two ageing jets, few pilots and no spare parts”, but is likely more concerned with Turkey’s military presence.
Hawach added that the military presence of Turkey “raises the question whether” Turkish radars will also appear in the country “which would constrain Israeli operations in a way no salvaged Sukhoi can”.
Sukhoi is a Russian aircraft manufacturer founded in the 1939 in the Soviet Union. It survived the dissolution of the USSR and designed the Sukhoi SU-57, a military stealth fighter jet, according to MigFlug.
There is consensus amongst analysts that Soviet era aircraft used in Syria poses little threat to Israel.
Aron Lund, a fellow at Century International as well as a senior analyst at the Swedish Defence Research Agency said that Sukhoi aircraft are not “a realistic threat to Israel” as they have a “world-class, very modern air force with F-35 stealth fighters”.
Lund also highlighted potential reasons that would cause Israel to protest about the Syrian Air Force. The first is that they don’t want “Syria to have fighter jets or air defences” as that would limit Israel’s use of Syrian airspace to bomb Iran if the US-Iran conflict continues further.
The analyst also points to the ongoing negotiations between Syria and Israel about the Israeli occupation of southern Syria since December 2024 when the Assad regime fell.
Lund argued that Israel may want to keep Syria “weak and dependent” as even a small Airforce could “make the Syrian military better positioned to overpower the Israel-backed Druze groups”.
The New Arab plus agencies, Maghrebi.org, MigFlug
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