Russia is now issuing its pilots on missions over Syria with pistols in case they are forced to eject and defend themselves.
This comes as images emerged of Russia’s most advanced missile defence system – the S-400 – deployed to protect its air force pilots in the war-ravaged country.
Russia has threatened to use the S-400’s devastating firepower to defend its air strikes in Syria.
The body of 45 year old pilot Lt-Col Oleg Peshkov – shot down by the Turkish air force last week provoking a major diplomatic crisis between Moscow and Ankara – was returned to his homeland on Monday.
There are claims he was killed by rebels after bailing out of his Su-24 bomber but the exact circumstances are still not clear.
His co-pilot Su-24 co-pilot Captain Konstantin Murakhtin survived after being plucked to safety in a rescue mission and is now back in Moscow.
Today it was revealed Russian pilots are now carrying Kalashnikovs in their seats which eject with them in the event of a future strike.
The weapon is secreted in a space where an inflatable boat is normally kept. The air crew also each carry a Strechkin automatic pistol.
Images were shown today on pro-Kremlin media of the S-400 deployment and the Strechkin handguns but not the Kalashnikovs.
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