On 24 November 2015 , Turkey shot down a Russian warplane that allegedly violated Turkish airspace and crashed in northwestern Syria , leading to the Russian pilot 's death . Following the crash , it was reported that Syrian Turkmen rebels from Syrian Turkmen Brigades attacked and shot down a Russian rescue helicopter , killing a Russian naval infantryman . A few days later , Russian aircraft were reported to have struck targets in the Syrian town of Ariha in Idlib province that was controlled by the Army of Conquest causing multiple casualties on the ground . On 2 December 2015 , the Parliament of the United Kingdom voted to expand Operation Shader into Syria with a majority of 397 – 223 . That day , two British Tornado aircraft took off from RAF Akrotiri immediately at 22:30 , each carrying three Paveway bombs . Two further aircraft were deployed at 00:30 on 3 December , and all aircraft returned by 06:30 without their bombs . Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said that the strikes hit the Omar oil fields in eastern Syria , and that eight more jets ( two Tornados and six Typhoons ) were being sent to RAF Akrotiri to join the eight already there
shot down a Russian warplane
2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
Timeline of the Syrian Civil War