Footage of F/A-18 Downing a Su-22, The First US Air-to-Air Kill Since Late 90s

first published on May 28, 2018 by Funker

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Footage from the US Military’s first manned air-to-air kill in nearly twenty years has surfaced. Multi-angle FLIR imagery shows a F/A-18E Super Hornet downing a SAA Su-22 over Syria this past year.

A cruise book video from returning Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 31 (VFA-31) has circulated, depicting the US Military’s first air-to-air kill against a manned aircraft since the Balkan campaign in the late 90s.

The downing of this Syrian Su-22 this past summer has been attributed to Lt. Cmdr. Michael “Mob” Tremel of VFA-31 who, along with several other pilots recently gave a detailed account of the events that transpired. The video depicts the shoot-down from several aerial perspectives; showing the missile strike and the subsequent fiery crash of the aircraft.

Originally flying a Close Air-Support (CAS) mission against ISIS, the lone Syrian jet was spotted entering the US aircraft’s vicinity – forcing Tremel to, “extend out in air-to-air master mode while these guys are in air-to-ground master mode to monitor the situation on the ground,” he said. “That’s when I’ll pick up an unknown aircraft approaching from the south.”

After three attempts to warn off the Syrian jet with close overhead passes and flares, the Su-22 “he [proceeded] to execute a dive and release ordnance in proximity of friendly forces,” forcing Lt. Cmdr Tremel to engage and ultimately destroy the offending aircraft.

The US Air Force additionally shot down two Iranian built drones in air-to-air operations this past summer – after they ventured too close to coalition forces.