Amid the surprise offensive by Syrian rebels that has reignited the 13-year-old civil war in the country, the opposition forces have claimed to have captured the L-39 Albatros aircraft along with a host of other military equipment belonging to the Syrian military.
Multiple photos and videos of Syrian rebels seizing control of the L-39 Albatros aircraft at the Aleppo International Airport were published on social media over the weekend. According to claims swirling on platform X, a total of 11 L-39s have been captured so far.
The Syrian Arab Air Force has flown several versions of the armed L-39ZA light attack aircraft in the last few decades. In the 1970s and 1980s, it reportedly acquired 55 L-39ZO and 44 L-39ZA armed trainers from the former Czechoslovakia. The Syrian Air Force has frequently used these aircraft to conduct counter-insurgency operations against the rebels.
The rebels allegedly captured a host of other military equipment, including the Russian-origin Pantsir S-1 anti-aircraft system, S-200 air defense system, Mi-8 helicopter, T-72A tank, BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle, BTR-80 armored personnel carrier, among other systems.
EurAsian Times could not independently verify these claims.
The development, however, comes in the wake of a new offensive against the Bashar al-Assad regime led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The HTS reportedly has its roots in Al-Qaeda and launched the offensive on November 27 in alliance with multiple decentralized Syrian rebel groups that have been fighting the Assad regime since 2011.
This coalition is named “Military Operations Command” and has a singular objective: toppling Bashar al-Assad from power.
In what has been described as a “lightning offensive,” the HTS-led rebels managed to cross over from Idlib (a city bordering Turkey that the rebels had been restricted to). They reportedly captured large swathes of Aleppo, the second-largest city of the war-torn country, on November 30.
After the war broke out in 2011, the rebels and the Assad regime fought a long conflict there, which famously came to be known as the Battle of Aleppo.
However, this age-old city has been under Assad’s control since the government achieved a victory in Aleppo in 2016, one of the war’s pivotal moments when Syrian forces supported by Russia and Iran surrounded and destroyed rebel-held eastern parts of the city. After the debacle, the rebels were pushed back into Idlib.
The latest offensive marks the first time in eight years that the rebels crossed over from Idlib and stepped foot into their erstwhile stronghold–Aleppo.
The Syrian Civil War is complex as it is a war fought between the rebels and the Syrian government, as well as internally among different rebel groups. Traditionally, several rebel groups in Syria have been militarily and financially assisted by countries like the United States and Turkey. However, the HTS is recognized as a global terror organization by both the countries as well as the United Nations.
As the November 2024 offensive began, the fighters claimed they were responding to increased attacks by government forces and pro-Iranian militia groups and were working to free territory seized by Assad’s military.
However, analysts believe that these rebels are merely taking advantage of Syrian allies—Russia and Iran—grappling with conflicts in their own countries. Russia has been fighting an almost three-year-long war with Ukraine, and Iran has been embroiled in a conflict with Israel, with its proxy Hezbollah constantly bombed by the Israel Defense Forces.
In the last decade, a key strategy of the Syrian regime has been the use of Syrian and Russian jets to strike the rebels in Aleppo and Idlib. And so, the jets intensified the bombing of the rebel-held city of Idlib over the weekend. Assad said: “Terrorists only know the language of force and it is the language we will crush them with”.
On November 30, the Syrian army implicitly admitted that its forces were retreating from Aleppo when it acknowledged that “large numbers of terrorists” had compelled it to “implement a redeployment operation.” Shortly, the rebels claimed to have occupied the Aleppo airport, about 7 kilometers east of the city center. This is where the L-39 Albatros were seized.
The seizure of these jets, used as light attack aircraft by the Syrian forces, is also very symbolic since they were extensively used during the Battle of Aleppo.
What Is The L-39 Albatross?
Designed and manufactured in the Czech Republic by Aero Vodochody, the Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer. It has conducted basic and advanced pilot training and flown light-attack combat missions in several countries, among other roles.
“This is a light training jet aircraft and the successor of an L-29 DELFÍN manufactured by AERO Vodochody in the Czech Republic. It is designed for basic and advanced training of pilots. Since 1968, there have been developed and produced several modified and upgraded versions of the aircraft, which are identified as L-39C, L-39V, L-39ZA, L-39MS, and L-39ZO,” according to the official website of the Ministry of Defense & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.
The aircraft took its maiden flight in 1968 and became the world’s first trainer aircraft with a turbofan power plant. It soon became the most sought-after trainer for countries of the Warsaw Pact. The L-39 Albatros was intended to be an affordable trainer aircraft powered by jets that could also carry out ground assault missions. Most onboard systems on the aircraft were streamlined for operating flexibility, affordability, and simplicity to avoid excessive maintenance costs.
With a length of 12.13 meters and a height of 4.77 meters, the aircraft’s maximum cruise speed is about 720 to 850 kilometers per hour, depending on the altitude. The Albatros’s maximum operating range is 1,750 kilometers with additional fuel tanks and 1,000 kilometers without fuel tanks.
The L-39 later became a light-attack aircraft which was exported to several countries. It features four hard points where unguided rocket pods or bombs can be connected, and it is built to support a combat load of 1,100 kilograms.
The landing gear’s sturdy design and favorable low landing speeds allowed it to be flown easily from arid airstrips, including frozen lakebeds. According to reports, the aircraft’s easy flying characteristics are facilitated by a quick throttle response, which makes it simpler for trainees who have never flown a jet aircraft before to handle it effectively.
In Syria, the L-39 was believed to be the first aircraft to be deployed against the rebels. The Syrian Air Force operated about 50 L-39s in 2011 when the conflict broke out and swiftly transitioned from training to combat missions.
The L-39 aircraft of the Syrian Air Force have been used frequently in counter-insurgency missions against different opposition ground forces since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. Following a raid and subsequent takeover of the Al-Jarrah airbase in February 2013, militants were able to effectively seize several complete L-39s and their supporting equipment. Some Islamist rebels claimed that they flew two of the stolen L-39s in late 2013.
Later, in 2014, the Syrian Air Force reportedly destroyed two airworthy L-39s under rebel control. By 2014, the L-39 was reportedly one of the Syrian Air Force’s preferred platforms for carrying out ground assault missions because of its greater agility compared to other fighter jets in its inventory. However, some of these aircraft were also shot down by ground fire during the conflict.
Some reports also suggested that when the Syrian government seized Aleppo in 2016 after a resounding victory, it re-captured some equipment that was captured by the rebels, including the L-39.
With the capture of these jets by the rebels, the L-39s are back at the forefront. However, much like the last time, Russia and Iran have rushed to back Assad, and the war has officially begun after an uneasy stalemate.
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