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LCDR Tremel admitted that the shoot-down required two missiles

Save The Royal Navy had the opportunity to speak with LCDR Michael Tremel, the fighter pilot from VFA-87 who is credited with shooting down the Syrian Su-22 on Jun. 18, 2017, near Tabqah, 20 miles west of Raqqa, after the attack aircraft had dropped bombs near the U.S. backed forces, in the form of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

As we have already explained his Su-22 shotdown represented the first air-to-air kill scored by a U.S. Navy aircraft since Operation Desert Storm (ODS). During ODS two F/A-18C Hornets belonging to VFA-81 Sunliners downed two Iraqis Chengdu F-7As (the Chinese version of the MiG-21 Fishbed) on Jan. 17, 1991, and an F-14A Tomcat from VF-1 Wolfpack shot down an Iraqi Mi-8 helicopter on Feb. 6, 1991.

However, as reported by Save The Royal Navy, here’s Tremel description of the air engagement.

“The whole incident lasted about eight minutes… I did not directly communicate with the Syrian Jet but he was given several warnings by our supporting AWACS aircraft… So yes, we released ordnance, and yes it hit a target that was in the air, but it really just came back to defending those guys that were doing the hard job on the ground and taking that ground back from ISIS.” He continued “I didn’t see the pilot eject but my wingman observed his parachute. When you think about the shoot-down, in the grand scheme of things… we [our squadron] flew over 400 missions in support of friendly forces on the ground” he said. On encounters with Russian aircraft, he said: “They behaved with great professionalism at all times.”

Moreover, LCDR Tremel also admitted that the shootdown required two missiles, an AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile that was deceived by flares deployed from the SU-22 and then an AIM-120 AMRAAM, which destroyed the Fitter.

Finally, according to the Alert 5 weblog, the jet involved has been identified as the F/A-18E Super Hornet AJ-302 BuNo. 168912 (that you can see in the main picture of this article) and not the F/A-18E BuNo. 168914 as first reported. The air-to-air kill mark has been painted below the canopy.

Photo by Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, the UK via Wikipedia and Navy Lookout Twitter profile

LCDR Tremel is in front of F/A-18E ‘AJ302’ BuNo. 168914, where he was flying when he downed the Fitter

The unique photo in this post shows LCDR Tremel, the U.S. Naval Aviator from the VFA-87 Golden Warriors, who shot down a Syrian Sukhoi Su-22 on June 18, 2017.

As you can see in the picture, Tremel is in front of the F/A-18E ‘AJ302’ BuNo. 168914 (whose model has apparently been changed from 304 to 302) that he was flying when he downed the Fitter near Tabqah, 20 miles west of Raqqa, after that, the attack aircraft had dropped bombs near the U.S.-backed forces in the form of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Super Hornet features the kill mark of the air-to-air victory under the cockpit canopy too.

The photo appeared on the Navy Lookout Twitter profile last night and was then reposted on Facebook by the world-famous modern military aviation author Tom Cooper.

As we have explained, immediately after the Syrian Su-22 dropped its bombs, two American F/A-18E Super Hornets, flying from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, engaged, firing an AIM-9X Sidewinder—a short-range air-to-air missile—at the Syrian plane from about half a mile away.

But the Syrian jet deployed defensive flares, causing the Sidewinder to miss its target. At this point, LCDR Tremel fired a second missile, in the form of an AIM-120 AMRAAM, which hit its intended target, downing the Syrian warplane and forcing its pilot to eject.

Noteworthy, this Su-22 shotdown represented the first air-to-air kill scored by a U.S. Navy aircraft since Operation Desert Storm (ODS). During ODS, two F/A-18C Hornets belonging to VFA-81 Sunliners downed two Iraqis Chengdu F-7As (the Chinese version of the MiG-21 Fishbed) on Jan. 17, 1991, and an F-14A Tomcat from VF-1 Wolfpack shot down an Iraqi Mi-8 helicopter on Feb. 6, 1991.

The main image of this article does not cause any OPSEC violation since it was already available from the sources outlined above

Photo by Navy Lookout Twitter profile 

The two F/A-18E Super Hornet pilots “did everything they could to try to warn the Fitter away. They did a head-butt maneuver; they launched flares, but ultimately the Su-22 went into a dive, and it was observed dropping munitions and was subsequently shot down.” Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, Pentagon spokesman

The photo in this post shows a U.S. Navy F/A-18E BuNo. 168914 from the VFA-87 Golden Warriors that, as we have already reported, was involved in the shooting down of a Syrian Su-22 on June 18th, 2017.

Noteworthy CNN learned new details of that day’s air-to-air engagement.

According to Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, in fact, the two Super Hornets, which, as we have explained, were flying near the town of Ja’Din, just south of Tabqah, Syria, to provide air cover to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) members, “saw the Su-22 approaching. It again had dirty wings; it was carrying ordnance. They did everything they could to try to warn it away. They did a head-butt maneuver; they launched flares, but ultimately the Su-22 went into a dive, and it was observed dropping munitions and was subsequently shot down.”

“Dirty wings” is a military term used to describe a plane carrying armaments. In “a head-butt maneuver, the planes fly just in advance of another to create a heavy wake and get its attention,” Davis explained.

As we have reported immediately after the Syrian Su-22 dropped its bombs, two American F/A-18E Super Hornets, flying from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, engaged, firing an AIM-9 Sidewinder—a short-range air-to-air missile—at the Syrian plane from about half a mile away.

But as US officials told CNN, the Syrian jet deployed defensive flares, causing the US missile to miss its target. The U.S. pilot shot a second missile, in the form of an AIM 120 AMRAAM, which hit its intended target, downing the Syrian warplane and forcing its pilot to eject.

The officials added that the U.S. pilot saw the Syrian pilot ejecting and saw a parachute deploy, but the US believes the pilot would have landed in ISIS-controlled territory in Syria. The Syrian Armed Forces said in a statement that the pilot was missing.

However, the downing of a Syrian Fitter does not appear to have prevented Syria from attempting a similar bombing on June 20th, according to US military officials. A U.S. official told CNN that another Syrian Su-22 fighter approached what the military assessed as a possible bombing run on the U.S.-backed SDF near Tabqa, Syria, on June 20th.

The official said that coalition aircraft performed a show of force, and the Syrian attack aircraft then aborted its trajectory and left the area.

Moreover, since after the Su-22 shot down Russia said it would treat any U.S. jets in Syria as “air targets,” the Australian government announced that it would “temporarily” halt its airstrikes in Syria.

However, the chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. David Goldfein, told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the de-confliction line “remains open.”

“There’s actually a line we have with the Russians that’s a de-confliction line, and that line remains open and we remain in conversation with them,” Goldfein pointed out.

“So our hope of course is that we return to a little bit sense of normalcy and we continue to keep the dialogue open,” he concluded.

Photo by Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK (Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet ‘168914 / AJ-304’), via Wikimedia Commons