Belarus modifies its Su-24 Fencer jets to carry nuclear weapons

Europe, News September 1, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Belarusian armed forces have modified its Su-24 strike fighter jets to deploy nuclear weapons, President Alexander Lukashenko announced.

Belarus President Lukashenko while referring to the modification of warplanes to carry nuclear weapons stated that “Some time ago, we [President Lukashenko and Russian President Putin] announced in St. Petersburg that we were going to modify Belarusian Su-24 aircraft so they could carry nuclear weapons. Do you think we were just shooting our mouths off? Everything is ready!”.

“They [the West] must understand that if they opt for escalation no helicopters or planes will save them,” Lukashenko added.

Belrus President Lukashenko warned that “It’s not a good idea to escalate things with Belarus because that would be an escalation with the Union State [of Russia and Belarus] which has nuclear weapons. If they start to create problems … the response will be immediate.”

The Sukhoi Su-24 is a supersonic attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The fighter jet has twin engines, and a variable-sweep wing, and it can carry a crew of two. The aircraft was used during the 2015 Russian military operation in Syria as well as the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

*^{Belarus Su-24 strike fighter jet. (Image Credit: Bartek Kozłowiec/Wikipedia)}*

Russia’s close ally, Belarus has allowed Moscow to use its grounds for launching attacks on Ukraine. Russia has also assigned anti-aircraft missile forces to joint missions along Belarus’s border, neighboring NATO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 25, 2022, that Moscow could supply Minsk with nuclear weapons in response to the “aggressive” policies of neighboring Poland and Lithuania.

Belarusian President Lukashenko is considered a close ally of Putin. In February 2022, Alexander Lukashenko along with Putin participated in Grom military drill, Russia’s strategic nuclear forces command-and-staff exercise.