A Russian aircraft identified as an Su-24 has crashed near the Syrian border. Reports at the NY Times and the BBC are that Turkey says it shot the plane down with F-16s after it violated Turkish airspace, after repeated warnings which were ignored. Russia says it was brought down by ground fire, and never violated Turkish airspace. There is video of a burning aircraft falling from the sky at the links; reports are the crew ejected but one did not survive.
Activity by Russian aircraft has stepped up recently in the Syrian conflict. Long range strategic bombers are among those being deployed. There are reports that three of Russia’s heavy bombers are now flying missions in the region.
...the Tu-22M3 Backfire, Tu-160 Blackjack, and the venerable Tu-95 Bear. Two of the three Russian (née Soviet) bombers haven't played a major role in any military campaign since the 1980s, when then-Soviet Tu-22M Backfires were blowing the crap out of Afghanistan.
Needless to say, this incident is causing much concern. There is no unified strategy for dealing with the conflict in Syria among the various nations currently carrying out operations, it is entangled with the conflict with Daesh. The NATO alliance, of which Turkey is a member, has been dealing with Russian aircraft operating around Europe in a manner intended to reassert Russia’s military capabilities in the past couple of years. This is in addition to tensions over Russian actions in the Ukraine.
The story continues to develop; the Guardian reports both crew members died, and NATO is convering a council meeting at Turkey’s request while Russian spokesmen are calling the incident “serious”.