User:Onetwothreeip/2016 in aviation

January

9 January

• Four air-to-ground missiles launched by Russian Federation Air Force aircraft hit a building used as a court house and prison by the Nusra Front in Maarrat al-Nu'man in Syria's Idlib Governorate. The strike kills at least 57 people, including 23 Nusra Front members.

23 January

• Air raids on Islamic State-held Khasham in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate kill 47 people. Observers in Syria suspect Russian aircraft of having conducted the raids.

26 January

• A month-long Syrian government military campaign results in the seizure of the crossroads at Sheikh Miskeen, Syria, from rebel forces. Russian airstrikes have played a conspicuous role in the success of the campaign.

29 January

• Turkey claims a Russian Federation Air Force Sukhoi Su-34 (NATO reporting name "Fullback") has violated its airspace near the border with Syria during the day, warning Russia of consequences if any further violations take place. A Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman denies any Russian intrusion into Turkey's airspace; he asserts that Turkish radar installations are incapable of identifying a particular aircraft's type or nationality and that no Russian pilot had received a verbal warning in either English or Russian, and he dismisses the Turkish claim as "pure propaganda."

February

4 February

• Russian aircraft support a Syrian government ground offensive which cuts a key rebel supply route to Aleppo. In what Syrian rebel fighters describe as one of the most intense periods of Russian airstrikes since the Russian air campaign in Syria began, Russian aircraft conduct 200 strikes over a 24-hour period.

8 February

• Talking to the media in Ankara, Turkey, after holding discussions about the European migrant crisis, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel says that she is "not just appalled, but horrified" at the suffering cause by airstrikes – particularly Russian airstrikes – in Syria, while Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu says that "No one should excuse or show tolerance toward the Russian air attacks that amount to ethnic massacres by saying ‘Turkey takes care of the Syrian refugees anyway.’" 

9 February

• Testifying before a United States Senate committee, U.S. intelligence officials report that the Russian air campaign in Syria has turned the tide in the Syrian Civil War and made it more likely that the regime of Bashar al-Assad will remain in power.

10 February

• Airstrikes in Syria near Aleppo hit two hospitals. The U.S.-led coalition blames Russia for the strike; Russia responds by blaming the United States, which in turn announces that the U.S.-led coalition made no strikes in the area during the day.

11 February

• At meetings in Munich, Germany, a group of 17 countries including Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States agree to a "cessation of hostilities" in the Syrian Civil War that is to take effect by 18 February. Under the agreement, Russia projects that it will cease airstrikes in Syria on 18 February except for strikes against the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, which it will continue, although it also ambiguously reserves to right strike any groups it deems "terrorists;" the agreement also includes humanitarian air drops of supplies in Syria that are expected to begin as early as 13–14 February, with Russia planning to use its aircraft to drop supplies in seven locations in Syria. After the agreement takes effect, a task force of countries headed by Russia and the United States is to establish geographic and other limits on airstrikes in Syria, adjudicate differences of opinion about which targets remain legitimate for airstrikes, and select targets for airstrikes, the first time the United States has agreed o do more than "deconflict" its air operations over Syria with those of Russia. Neither the Government of Syria or any of the rebel groups fighting against it take part in the meetings or are parties to the agreement.

12 February

• Syrian government and Russian aircraft strike targets in rebel areas in many locations across Syria, including targets north of Aleppo in support of a 10-day-old Syrian government ground offensive seeking to surround and cut off rebel-held Aleppo.

15 February

• Aircraft hit at least two schools and four hospitals in northern Syria with air-to-ground missiles, killing nearly 50 people. Russia responds to reports that its aircraft were responsible by blaming the United States for the strikes, as does the Government of Syria. The United States responds that no aircraft of the U.S.-led coalition was operating in the area at the time.

19 February

• A deadline established on 12 February for a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria except for strikes against those targets mutually agreed to by Russia and the U.S.-led coalition passes without the ceasefire going into effect. Russia and the U.S.-led coalition have been unable to agree on what constitutes a "terrorist" target, with Russia taking the view that all groups opposing the Syrian government are terrorists and the U.S.-led coalition limiting the definition of terrorists in Syria to the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, leading to problems in determining which areas of Syria will be subject to Russian and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes after the "cessation of hostilities" begins; Turkey's insistence on targeting Kurdish forces in Syria adds to the disagreement over legitimate targets.

20 February

• A day after the United Nations Security Council rejected a Russian draft resolution calling for an immediate end to Turkey's shelling of and other military actions against Syria, Russia's Ministry of Defense announces that five additional Russian Federation Air Force Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO reporting name "Fulcrum") fighters and a Mil Mi-8MT (NATO reporting name "Hip") helicopter have arrived at a military base outside Yerevan, Armenia, and soon will be sent to Erebuni Airport outside Yerevan – only 40 km (25 mi) from the Turkish border – to reinforce the 18 MiG-29s and seven Mil Mi-24P (NATO reporting name "Hind") attack helicopters already based there. After assembly, the additional aircraft are expected to begin practice flights from Erebuni Airport in mid-March.

22 February

• The United States and Russia announce that they have agreed on a partial ceasefire in Syria under which they will establish a "hotline" which they will use to share informnation allowing them to delineate the boundaries of areas controlled by specific groups in Syria. They also agree to limit airstrikes to areas controlled by the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, or any other group that the United Nations designates as a terrorist group. Other rebel groups in Syria and the Government of Syria have until 26 February to inform the United States or Russia that they agree to the terms of the ceasefire; if they do not, they run the risk of coming under renewed air attack by Russia or the U.S.-led coalition.

26 February

• A few minutes after a final Russian airstrike hits Kafr Hamrah, a ceasefire goes into effect in the Syrian Civil War. Under its terms, the U.S.-led coalition is to continue airstrikes against the Islamic State and the Russian Federation Air Force is to continue to hit both Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra targets, with the United States and Russia coordinating their understanding of the boundaries of territories held by the two groups so that strikes do not occur against any of the other groups in Syria unless they have been declared terrorist groups by the United Nations.

27 February

• Russia announces a 24-hour cessation of all Russian airstrikes in Syria, reserving the right to continue airstrikes targeting the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra.

28 February

March

4 March

• In a sudden change of policy, Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe agrees to suspend construction of a United States Marine Corps air station at Henoko Bay, Okinawa, and settle out of court on three lawsuits related to its construction. However, he also says that he remains committed to closing Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, and moving its operations elsewhere and that Henoko Bay is the only practical alternative.
• A series of airstrikes by U.S. manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles in Shaddadi, Syria, kills 13 Islamic State personnel, likely including Abu Omar al-Shishani.
• Rebel groups in Syria complain that despite the ceasefire in the Syria Civil War – which excludes only groups deemed terrorist groups by the United Nations, notably the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra – that went into effect on 27 February, they are under attack by Syrian government forces supported by airstrikes they believe the Russian Federation Air Force is conducting. One rebel in Latakia Governorate in northwestern Syria claims that his group is "getting bombarded by 50 airstrikes a day by the Russians."

• On the second day of a planned two-week cessation of airstrikes in Syria, Russian aircraft based in northwestern Syria resume strikes in Syria, hitting six towns and villages in Aleppo, Hama, and Idib Governorates.

7 March

• Unidentified aircraft strike a rebel-held fuel depot in Syria's Idlib Governorate, killing at least 12 and perhaps as many as 15 people.

15 March

• Russian aircraft withdraw from Syria and return to Russia, where their crews receive a hero's welcome, at the time apparently bringing an end to the Russian air campaign there that began on 30 September 2015, although a Russian announcement on 18 March will clarify that Russian airstrikes in Syria continue and imply that a substantial number of Russian combat aircraft remain in Syria. The Russian armed forces also maintain an S-400 surface-to-air missile force in Syria and keep Russian naval and air bases there open after the withdrawal of the aircraft.

17 March

• Boasting that Russia's 167-day intervention in Syria saved the regime of Syrian President Basher al-Assad from defeat at a coast of only $480 million, Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia could restore its military presence in Syria in a metter of hours if necessary and will maintain a powerful surface-to-air missile force there. He warns that Russia will respond with force if any rebel group breaks the Syrian ceasefire and or any attacks against Russian forces still in Syria occur, and suggests that Russia will intervene militarily in Syria again if it believes the Assad regime is in danger of losing power.

18 March

• A Russian Armed Forces General Staff spokesman announces that Russia continues airstrikes in Syria, targeting Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra positions in support of an offensive by the Syrian Arab Army to retake Palmyra. Russia's 20 to 25 airstrikes per day are well below the 100 per day prior to the announced Russian withdrawal of its aircraft from Syria on 15 March, suggesting that Russia actually still maintains a substantial number of combat aircraft at Khmeimim Airbase in Latakia Governorate, its airbase in Syria.

19 March

• Unidentified aircraft strike Islamic State-held Raqqa, Syria, killing at least 39 – and perhaps as many as 43 – people and reportedly injuring at least 50 others. Different observers report the attacking aircraft as either Russian Federation Air Force or Syrian Air Force jets.
• Unidentified aircraft strike Islamic State targets in Palmyra, Syria, killing seven Islamic State personnel during a Syrian Arab Army offensive to retake Palmyra.

21 March

• The Russian Ministry of Defense warns that it will act unilaterally against rebel groups it believes are breaking the ceasefire in Syria, with airstrikes beginning as soon as 22 March if the United States does not address Russian proposals for dealing with ceasefire violations.

27 March

• Russian airstrikes support Syrian government troops as they retake Palmyra, Syria, from the Islamic State.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense announces that Russian forces have conducted 500 sorties in Syria since 7 March, hitting 2,000 Islamic State targets.

30 March

• Unidentified aircraft strike the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area east of Damascus, Syria, killing at least 23 people.

31 March

• The Russian Ministry of Defense releases videos that reveal that Russian Mil Mi-28N (NATO reporting name "Havoc") attack helicopters are operating in Syria. The videos show the helicopters destroying Islamic State armored vehicles near Palmyra.

April

3 April

• Supported by Russian Federation Air Force airstrikes, Syrian Arab Army troops on the offensive against Islamic State forces retake Qaryatain, Syria.
• A U.S. airstrike against a senior al-Qaeda operational meeting in Syria's Idlib Governorate at the headquarters of Jund al-Aqsa, which fights alongside the Nusra Front in the Syrian Civil War, kills 21 Islamic militants, including senior al-Qaeda member Abu Firas al-Souri.