Russia uses aircraft carrier for big attack on Syrian rebels
Russia launched coordinated missile strikes against rebels in Syria on Tuesday and Moscow for the first time used its only aircraft carrier in combat, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
Shoigu said a frigate had fired cruise missiles, jets from the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's sole aircraft carrier, had been involved in action, and missiles had been loosed from a mobile land-based missile system inside Syria.
In Washington, Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesperson, said he was aware of the announcement, but was still looking into the strikes. "From a pure military perspective, Russia already has significant capabilities inside Syria," Davis said. "Anything that they bring in from the outside, if it's aircraft carriers or if it's cruise missiles launching from ships or if it's long-range strike bombers flying in from Russia, those are done for show," Davis added.
