2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown military of its jet's flight plan. The Russian pilot and weapon systems officer both ejected from the aircraft. The weapon systems officer was rescued; the pilot was shot and killed by Syrian rebel ground fire while descending by parachute. A Russian naval infantryman from the search and rescue team launched to retrieve the two airmen was also killed when a rescue helicopter was targeted by the rebels. The shooting down of the Sukhoi Su-24M was the first destruction of a Russian or Soviet Air Forces warplane by a NATO member state since the attack on the Sui-ho Dam (during the
Sukhoi Su-24 forces, split 321 with the Russian Air Force and 94 with the Russian Navy. The Russian Air Force will eventually replace the Su-24 with the Sukhoi Su-34. The Soviet Union used some Su-24s in the Soviet–Afghan War, with an initial round of strikes in 1984 and a second intervention at the end of the war in 1988. No Su-24 were lost. On October 13, 1990, Syrian Air Force jets entered Lebanese air space in order to strike General Michel Aoun's military forces. Seven Su-24 jets were used in this operation. During Operation Desert Storm, the Iraqi Air Force evacuated 24