Ja'Din shootdown incident

Ja'Din shootdown incident
	Part of the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War (Operation Inherent Resolve)
	; Image taken from video footage of the incident recorded by an F/A-18
Date	18 June 2017
Location	Ja'Din, Raqqa Governorate, Syria35°40′50″N 38°42′40″E / 35.68056°N 38.71111°E
Result	US victory; Syrian Air Force Su-22 Fitter shot down Further decline of US-Syria relations and US-Russia relations; SDF withdraws from Ja’Din; Australia temporarily suspends airstrikes in Syria;
Belligerents
United States; Syrian Democratic Forces	Syria; Russia (present during incident, did not participate)
Commanders and leaders
VFA-87 Lt. Cmdr. Michael Tremel; Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Krueger; VFA-37 Lt. Cmdr. William Vuillet; Lt. Stephen Gasecki;	Captain Ali Fahd
Units involved
US Navy VAQ-131 CMDR. Clarity; VFA-87 Freedom 33; Freedom 34; VFA-37 Freedom 43; Freedom 44;	Syrian Air Force; Russian Air Force
Strength
United States 2 F/A-18Es; 2 F/A-18Cs; 1 E-3 Sentry; 1 McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender;	Syria 1 Su-22 Fitter; Russia 1 Su-27 (present during incident);
Casualties and losses
Unknown injured	1 Su-22 Fitter shot down
	Ja’Din class=notpageimage\| Location of Ja'Din in Syria

On 18 June 2017, a United States Navy F/A-18E shot down a Syrian Air Force Su-22 Fitter with an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile after it reportedly attacked Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces positions in the town of Ja'Din. It was the first time the U.S. shot down a manned aircraft since 1999 and the first with the F/A-18E/F variant.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

The downing triggered quick condemnation from Russia and Syria with both nations claiming it to be a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty. The Syrian pilot, Captain Ali Fahd, successfully ejected from his aircraft and was found alive by Syrian troops one day later in the village of Shuwaihat. The F/A-18E pilot, Lieutenant Commander Michael Tremel was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in September 2018 for his actions during the incident.^[11]^[12]^[13]

^ Rogoway, Tyler (21 September 2017). "VFA-31 Releases Footage Of Syrian Su-22 Being Shot Down In This Awesome Cruise Video". The Drive.
^ "You Can Finally Watch Footage Of The First US Air-To-Air Kill In 18 Years". Task & Purpose. 21 September 2017.
^ Cenciotti, David (21 September 2017). "Here's The Video Of The Syrian Su-22 Fitter Being Shot Down By A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet". The Aviationist.
^ Seck, Hope Hodge (31 October 2017). "'A Different Feeling': Navy Pilots Describe Shooting Down SU-22".
^ "Alahednews:Syrian Pilot Found Alive After US Downed His Jet over Raqqah". english.alahednews.com.lb.
^ "US shoots down Syrian bomber for attacking anti-ISIS force". Washington Examiner. 18 June 2017.
^ "US coalition downs first Syrian plane". BBC News. 19 June 2017.
^ Browne, Ryan (21 June 2017). "New details on US shoot down of Syrian jet". CNN.
^ Rogoway, Tyler (18 June 2017). "USN F/A-18E Super Hornet Shoots Down Syrian Su-22 Fitter Attack Jet".
^ "Pentagon: U.S. shoots down Syrian aircraft for first time". Politico.
^ Harkins, Gina (10 September 2018). "Navy Pilot Gets Distinguished Flying Cross for Shooting Down Syrian Bomber". military.com.
^ Miles, Frank (10 September 2018). "US Navy fighter pilot receives valor award for shooting down Syrian jet in 2017". Fox News.
^ Hollings, Alex (13 September 2018). "US Navy pilot awarded medal for shooting down Syrian fighter jet". NEWSREP.

[1] Rogoway, Tyler (21 September 2017). "VFA-31 Releases Footage Of Syrian Su-22 Being Shot Down In This Awesome Cruise Video". The Drive.

[2] "You Can Finally Watch Footage Of The First US Air-To-Air Kill In 18 Years". Task & Purpose. 21 September 2017.

[3] Cenciotti, David (21 September 2017). "Here's The Video Of The Syrian Su-22 Fitter Being Shot Down By A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet". The Aviationist.

[4] Seck, Hope Hodge (31 October 2017). "'A Different Feeling': Navy Pilots Describe Shooting Down SU-22".

[5] "Alahednews:Syrian Pilot Found Alive After US Downed His Jet over Raqqah". english.alahednews.com.lb.

[6] "US shoots down Syrian bomber for attacking anti-ISIS force". Washington Examiner. 18 June 2017.

[7] "US coalition downs first Syrian plane". BBC News. 19 June 2017.

[8] Browne, Ryan (21 June 2017). "New details on US shoot down of Syrian jet". CNN.

[9] Rogoway, Tyler (18 June 2017). "USN F/A-18E Super Hornet Shoots Down Syrian Su-22 Fitter Attack Jet".

[10] "Pentagon: U.S. shoots down Syrian aircraft for first time". Politico.

[11] Harkins, Gina (10 September 2018). "Navy Pilot Gets Distinguished Flying Cross for Shooting Down Syrian Bomber". military.com.

[12] Miles, Frank (10 September 2018). "US Navy fighter pilot receives valor award for shooting down Syrian jet in 2017". Fox News.

[13] Hollings, Alex (13 September 2018). "US Navy pilot awarded medal for shooting down Syrian fighter jet". NEWSREP.

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