Syrian air defense forces are one of the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic .
Air Defense Forces of Syria | |
---|---|
Years of existence | 1969 - n. at. |
A country | Syria |
Enters into | Syrian Armed Forces |
Type of | Air Defense Forces |
Number of | 20,000 people |
Dislocation | |
Participation in | War of attrition (1967-1970) Doomsday War Lebanon war Syrian Civil War Intervention of the USA and its allies in Syria |
Content
History
Air defense units have been created since the organization of the Syrian Armed Forces . Then it was a unit that was part of the Ground Forces and the Syrian Air Force . Armed air defense units at that time were exclusively anti-aircraft artillery caliber from 23 to 100 mm Soviet-made - 61-K , C-60 , KS-19 . ZSU-57-2 and ZSU-23-4 installations are widely used. Basically, the task of protecting the airspace of Syria was assigned to the fighter aircraft of the Air Force . After the defeat in the six-day war of 1967, during which Israeli aircraft destroyed from 54 [1] to 60 [2] of 106 Syrian aircraft, a significant number of them were destroyed right at the airfields [3] , the Syrian leadership realized the need to create air defense forces armed with anti-aircraft missile systems .
The first two complexes ( divisions ) of the CA-75M Dvina-AK were delivered to Syria from the USSR in 1968 [4] . The following four complexes - in 1969. Since 1973, S-75M Volga complexes were supplied to Syria. A total of 6 SA-75M SAMs and 52 S-75M (M3) SAM systems were supplied to Syria.
In 1972, deliveries of the S -125 and S-125M Pechora SAM systems began. In 1973, supplies of the air defense systems Kvadrat 2K12E were launched into Syria, which entered service with the Syrian air defense forces.
In 1973, the creation of a network of radar stations based on the Soviet P-14F Lena radar began . It was delivered 6 radar.
The creation of Syrian air defense forces took place with the direct participation of Soviet military and technical specialists . They studied the combat experience gained in the course of the six-day war, used it in the organization of the Syrian air defense system, trained the command and officers . A certain number of air defense missile systems came to Syria with manned Soviet officers and soldiers (that is, divisions ), who were already on-site trained in the Syrian military complexes. After training, the air defense system was transferred to the Syrian army.
By the beginning of the 1973 Doomsday War , Syria’s air defense system included 12 S-75M air defense systems, 8 S-125 air defense systems, 14 Kvadrat air defense systems, and about 1,000 anti-aircraft guns. During the war, the Syrian and Egyptian air defense forces together destroyed 82 aircraft of the Israeli Air Force , which eventually amounted to 85% of all Israeli aviation losses [5] . At the same time, according to the types of air defense weapons, the losses of the Israeli Air Force were as follows: [5]
- SAM "Square" - 27 planes
- ZSU-23-4 - 27 aircraft
- Air defense artillery - 15 aircraft
- MANPADS "Strela-2" - 6 aircraft
- ZRK S-125 - 4 aircraft
- SAM S-75 of all modifications - 2 aircraft
According to others, the losses of the Israeli Air Force from fire only on the S-75 and C-125 air defense missiles of Syria were: [6] [7]
- SAM SA-75M - 26 aircraft
- SAM S-75M - 32 aircraft
- ZRK S-125 - 33 aircraft
Syria’s own anti-aircraft missile losses were 3 ZRK destroyed and 5 ZRK damaged by air strikes , and 1 ZRK was destroyed or damaged during shelling by Israeli land forces [5] .
Despite the small number of destroyed aircraft, it cannot be said that the Syrian air defense forces were not effective. Their main task was to cover up the actions of tank and motorized infantry units and formations , which were supposed to gain a foothold on the Golan Heights. There is no doubt that in the absence of an effective anti-aircraft defense, Israeli aviation would instantly destroy the enemy, as happened with the first mechanized brigade of Egypt in Sinai and as it was in 1967. It was during the assault raids on the positions and columns of Syrian troops, Israeli aircraft suffered the greatest losses. During the first raids, the level of losses reached 50%, in general, during the first four days of the conflict - up to 17% of aircraft [5] . The heavy fire forced Israeli pilots to bomb from a great height, which led to a sharp loss of accuracy. Thus, air defense, in fact, became the only type of armed forces of the Arab countries, which successfully completed the tasks assigned to them.
After the 1973 war, the improvement and strengthening of the material part of the air defense forces continued. From 1973 to 1982, the Sri-75M Volga air defense system, 34 S-125M Pechora air defense system, 50 Kvadrat air defense missile system, 63 Osa air defense missile system [8] were commissioned into Syria’s air defense system. Radar P-35 , P-37, P-12 , P-15 , radio altimeters PRV-11 , PRV-13 [9] were sent to the radio engineering troops. The weapons were upgraded: the SA-75M air defense missile system in 1971-77; The S-75M air defense missile system in 1979-84; The S-125M air defense missile system in 1979-83; Radar P-14F in 1981-82.
From the moment of the end of the war of the war of the Doomsday of 1973 to June 5, 1974, the war of attrition continued, during which both warring parties actively used aircraft, artillery and air defense systems. Since 1978, fighting began with the Israeli Air Force in the airspace of Lebanon. During these battles, Syrian air forces suffered significant losses: at least 12 MiGs, including 2 MiG-25s . To cover the Syrian troops in Lebanon, in the Bekaa Valley , the FEDA air defense force was deployed as part of three anti-aircraft missile brigades (regiments): there are 15 divisions (batteries) of the Kvadrat air defense missile system; and one mixed-strength anti-aircraft missile brigade: two divisions C-75M Volga and two divisions C-125M Pechora. Total in the amount of 19 divisions . The command posts of the brigades and the starting positions of the divisions were covered by means of direct cover: anti-aircraft self-propelled units ZSU-23-4 and MANPADS.
On the night of June 9-10, the 82nd anti-aircraft missile brigade, consisting of 5 divisions of the Kvadrat air defense missile system and three anti-aircraft artillery regiments, was introduced into Lebanon, but as of June 9, 1982 they did not have time to join the advanced grouping [10] . As a result of Operation Artsav 19 , launched by the Israeli army on June 9, 1982, within 2 hours, 15 anti-aircraft missile battalions (batteries) in the Bekaa Valley were completely destroyed (of which 11 Kvadrat batteries), and 3 more battalions - badly damaged. The next day, on June 10, the strikes are resumed, both on the survivors of the previous attacks, and on the five divisions of the 82nd zrbr introduced at night. The result - 4 divisions destroyed [10] . During the operation on June 10, 1982, a major air battle took place over the Bekaa Valley, in which about 350 fighters took part on both sides. The Syrian Air Force recognized the loss in those battles 60 aircraft [1] . Israel also said that its air force shot down 85 Syrian fighters and 5 Gazelle helicopters. The Israeli side recognized the loss of only one Skyhawk attack aircraft and two AN-1 Cobra and Bell 212 helicopters, shot down by Palestinians using MANPADS [11] [12] . According to more realistic data, the loss of the Israeli Air Force amounted to 13 fighters and attack aircraft, including several F-15s [1] [10] [13] .
In view of the serious losses suffered by the Syrian army in Lebanon, and with the aim of qualitatively strengthening the Syrian air defense, in January 1983, the transfer of specially formed two anti-aircraft missile regiments (220th missile defense and 231st missile defense missile), armed with long-range air defense missile systems, began -200VE "Vega-E" , each of which consisted of two fire and one technical divisions. The 220th SRP was placed in positions 40 km west of Damascus near the city of Dumeir, the 231rd SRP was located 5 km east of Homs. Also, the S-125M1A “Pechora” air defense system (4 fire and 1 technical division) fully manned by Soviet military personnel was transferred to Syria. In the same 1983, 6 air defense missile systems of the last modification of the Volga C-75M3 [4] were delivered to Syria.
In December 1983, after the resumption of hostilities between the Lebanese army and the Shiite-Druze militias, the combined forces of the naval groups of the United States, Britain, France and Italy began a naval blockade of the Lebanese coast to support the Lebanese army. Shipboard artillery in conjunction with the bomber aircraft began to deliver massive strikes against Shiite and Druze militias and Syrian troops occupying defenses in the mountainous areas of Sanin, covering the Damascus-Beirut highway. Prior to this, as early as November, airstrikes against Syrian troops stationed in the Bekaa Valley were inflicted. Syrian troops launched a series of retaliatory strikes against the US naval grouping, and the air defense forces acted against carrier-based aviation. On December 4, 1983, during the air attack on the positions of the Syrian troops in Lebanon, the A-7 Corsair II and A-6 Intruder attack planes were destroyed by forces of the 3rd and 6th aviation wings by fire of the air defense forces. In six days of active combat, anti-aircraft gunners shot down nine American aircraft, including five A-6 Intruder , three F-14 Tomcat , one F-4 Phantom II , in addition, four Israeli and two French carrier-based Super Étendard fighters [13] . Before the blockade, the Americans massively used unmanned reconnaissance aircraft AQM-34 , which patrolled over the positions of the Syrian troops in Lebanon, as well as the positions of the Soviet air defense systems stationed in Syria. The divisions of the direct cover of the air defense system "Wasp" shot down eleven unmanned aircraft. The 220th SRP reported a defeat by launching one missile at a distance of 190 km of the E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft , although neither the United States nor Israel confirmed the loss of this type of aircraft. Nevertheless, the flights of the aircraft of the United States and Israel have ceased - the task set before the anti-aircraft gunners was completed [14] .
After stabilization of the situation, lifting the blockade of Beirut and the withdrawal of Israeli troops in the southern part of Lebanon, the leadership of the USSR decided to withdraw Soviet regular military units from Syria. In July 1984, the entire personnel of the regular Soviet air defense units, having trained the Syrian military and transferring to them the entire material part of the air defense system and other air defense systems, left the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic [14] .
Current State
Syrian air defense equipped with Soviet and Russian weapons and military equipment. Over 900 anti-aircraft missile systems and more than 4000 anti-aircraft guns of 23-100 mm caliber are in service.
According to the Russian press, there are three assessments of the combat effectiveness of this technology:
- 1) all of these systems do not pose a serious threat to modern aviation of the NATO countries [15] ;
- 2) there are opposite evaluations [16] [17] ;
- 3) only stationary long-range S-200VE Vega-E [18] as well as self-propelled Buk medium-range air defense systems [19] are dangerous for NATO.
A significant deterrent for the Syrian army is the desire to preserve the combat capability of the air force and air defense to deter massive attacks while essentially ignoring small-sized air attacks to hide real combat capabilities, similarly used by the air defense and air forces of Yugoslavia in the war against NATO in 1999, occasionally, allowed to maintain combat capability until the end of the war, forcing the enemy to suffer losses in terms of the superiority of the enemy tenfold in terms of numbers and superiority in technology from 20 up to 50 years in terms of modernization.
Also, universal, mobile, self-contained uncontrollable air defense systems are: 36 ZRPK Pantsyr , able to work on the move and / or in a completely passive mode (there is conflicting information about modifications of both ZRPK and missiles delivered to it) combat (interception of aircraft and ammunition at a distance of 20 to 4 km, which depends on the modification), deliveries to the level of 50 sets of ZRPK are being completed. Medium-range air defense system: “Beech M1-2” 20 and / or “Beech M-2E” - a total of 18 [20] sets (capable of hitting any targets, including F-15 type aircraft at a range of up to 45 km, while striking to 24 targets each set (M2E)), Pechora-2M .
Also at the disposal of Syria's air defense there are more than 4,000 anti-aircraft guns of various modifications (there is a gradual decommissioning).
For preliminary detection of the direction of an air attack, the system of passive detection 1L222 “Avtobaz” [21] can be used, according to two coordinates from 3 [22] [23] .
Today, the main deterrent to massive air attacks is not power, or even technical excellence, but the presence of air defense systems. It is worth noting that the defense of Syria is significantly newer and more numerous than the systems of defense of Libya , Iraq or Yugoslavia, therefore their effectiveness will be different. That is, the countries of the anti-Syrian coalition will have to conduct a lengthy operation to neutralize the air defense system. [24] As of October 2016, Syria’s air defenses were fully restored and ready to shoot down any flying foreign targets in Syria [25] [26] .
During the Russian military operation in Syria , by 2017, Syria’s air defenses and the Russian air defense group in the main base area of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria near the Khmeymim airfield created a unified air defense system in Syria. The unified system provides information and technical interface of the Russian and Syrian airspace reconnaissance equipment, and all the information about the air situation from the Syrian radar stations goes to the command posts of the Russian military force [27] .
On February 10, 2018, Syrian air defenses shot down an F-16 Israeli air force from a group that bombed a military base in the central part of the Arab Republic [28] .
On April 14, 2018, Syrian air defenses repulsed a massive missile attack by the United States, Britain and France on Syrian military targets. 112 anti-aircraft missiles were used, which hit 71 targets out of 103 (according to the Russian Defense Ministry). To repel the attack, the following systems were used: C-125, C-200, Buk, Cube, Osa, Strela-10, Pantsir-C1. According to the US Defense Department, Syria’s air defense failed to intercept any missiles or aircraft, Syrian air defense launched more than 40 ground-to-air missiles, with most of the launches already taking place after the strikes on the targets were completed [29] . The French Ministry of Defense announced the successful implementation of the tasks, the Syrian air defense could not intercept any missiles fired by the French side [30] [31] ; According to the French General Staff Chief, Francois Lecuntre, Syria’s air defense system was very weak, and the Syrian air force did not even try to intervene and leave the airbases “Russians were in”, which de facto provided some protection to the Syrian aviation. [32] .
Part of the missiles, apparently due to technical problems, did not reach their goals and fell; two of them, including the Tomahawk rocket, were allegedly taken to Moscow [33] .
Subsequently, debris, allegedly - shot down by Syria's air defenses, the Tomahawk, SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles were presented to journalists on April 25, 2018 at a briefing by the Russian Ministry of Defense [34] .
Amplification after the death of the aircraft VKS Russia
After the incident with the destruction of Russian Il-20 in Syria on September 17, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to strengthen the air defense system of Syria. The Russian Ministry of Defense delivered anti-aircraft missile systems S-300 (earlier, in 2013, the Russian side, at the request of Israel , stopped the delivery of these complexes to Syria) [35] .
Also, the Syrian air defense command posts were equipped with automated control systems, which were previously supplied only to the Russian Armed Forces. This allowed for the centralized management of the Syrian air defense system.
According to the Minister of Defense of Russia Sergei Shoigu , in the areas of the Mediterranean adjacent to Syria, Russian means will suppress satellite navigation, radar systems and communications of combat aviation attacking objects in Syrian territory [36] .
The first major Israeli attack was repulsed by Syrian air defenses at the end of November 2018. The Russian Buk-M2E anti-aircraft missile systems and the Pantsir-S1 missile-cannon were used [37] .
Structure
The air defense system of Syria for 2018 consists of 3 air defense regiments with S -200 air defense missile systems and 4 air defense divisions with C-125 , 2K12 Kub and C-75 Dvina . [38]
Weapons and weapons
Title | Production | Type of | amount | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Air defense systems | ||||
S-300 | the USSR Russia | Long-range air defense systems | 24 [39] | |
C-200 VE | the USSR | Long-range air defense systems | Exhaustion during the civil war significantly reduced the amount of equipment for almost all types [40] | |
S-125 "Pechora" S-125 "Pechora-2M" | the USSR Russia | Short range air defense system | Exhaustion during the civil war significantly reduced the amount of equipment for almost all types [40] | For 2019, deliveries are made from Russia "Pechora-2M" [40] |
S-75 Volga | the USSR | Medium range air defense system | Exhaustion during the civil war significantly reduced the amount of equipment for almost all types [40] | |
9K317E Buk-M2E | Russia | medium-range self-propelled SAM | 18 [8] [2] | For 2019 deliveries are made from Russia [40] |
9K37 "Beech" | the USSR | medium-range self-propelled SAM | Exhaustion during the civil war significantly reduced the amount of equipment for almost all types [40] | |
Pantsir-C1 | Russia | self-propelled short-range SAMs | Exhaustion during the civil war significantly reduced the amount of equipment for almost all types [40] | For 2019 deliveries are made from Russia [40] |
"Square" | the USSR | self-propelled short-range SAMs | Exhaustion during the civil war significantly reduced the amount of equipment for almost all types [40] | |
9K33 Osa-AK 9K33 Osa-AKM | the USSR | self-propelled SAM | Exhaustion during the civil war significantly reduced the amount of equipment for almost all types [40] | |
Strela-2 Strela-2 M | the USSR | MANPADS | Exhaustion during the civil war significantly reduced the amount of equipment for almost all types [40] |
The constant loss of weapons during the civil war in Syria dramatically reduced the number of remaining units of all types. As of 2016, it is quite difficult to estimate the amount of weapons in the military [41] . But some sources [42] give the following weapons of Syria’s air defense:
Type of | Picture | Production | Purpose | amount | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
S-300 | the USSR Russia | Long-range air defense systems | 24 [39] | ||
C-75 | the USSR | Short-range anti-aircraft missile system | up to 53 divisions | Modifications "Dvina" and "Volga" | |
S-125M Pechora-M S-125 "Pechora-2M" | the USSR Russia | Short-range anti-aircraft missile system | up to 40 divisions | The main modification is the S-125M Neva-M in its export version of the Pechora-M. In 2011-2013 [8] , the S-125 Pechora-2M air defense missile system was supplied in an amount of 12 pieces (it is unknown what: 12 divisions or 12 PUs ). | |
S-200VE "Vega-E" | the USSR | Long-range anti-aircraft missile system | 8 divisions | In the composition of three groups of divisions [41] . | |
"Square" | the USSR | Self-propelled short-range anti-aircraft missile system | up to 5 regiments = 25 batteries | ||
Buk-M1 Buk-M2 | the USSR Russia | Self-propelled medium-range anti-aircraft missile system | 3-6 divisions | Delivery of 8 Buk-M2 SAMs in 2010-2013 [8] . | |
Pantsir-C1 | Russia | Self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and gun complex short-range | 36 complexes | Delivery of 36 MANPADS in 2008-2013 [8] . | |
Wasp | the USSR | Short-range anti-aircraft missile system | 61 complex | Transferred from the air defense of the Ground Forces [42] | |
Strela-10 | the USSR | Short-range anti-aircraft missile system | up to 60 SAMs | Transferred from the air defense of the Ground Forces [42] | |
Strela-1 | the USSR | Short-range anti-aircraft missile system | up to 100 SAK | Transferred from the air defense of the Ground Forces [42] |
See also
- Missile attack on the air base El-Sheyrat
- Coalition strike on Syria in April 2018
- IL-20 crash in Syria
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Aviation in the Arab-Israeli wars .
- ↑ Operation Moked - Wikipedia
- ↑ Syrian Air Force History
- ↑ 1 2 Personal site - Main History of air defense, C-25 BERKUT, C-75 DVINA, DESNA, VOLHOV.S-125 NEVA, PECHORA, C-200 ANGARA, VEGA military equipment, their combat use. Only documents and more
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Air defense operations during the Doomsday War .
- Anti-aircraft missile forces in the wars in Vietnam and the Middle East. M., Military publishing house of the USSR Ministry of Defense, 1980. Pp. 222.
- ↑ Group of Soviet military specialists in Syria .
- 2 1 2 3 4 5 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute - Arms Transfers Database
- ↑ Archived copy (inaccessible link) . The date of circulation is May 17, 2017. Archived October 12, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 3 The lessons of the war in Lebanon: why did the Fed defense group fall?
- ↑ Victory in the Air: Air Battle of 1982 .
- ↑ Operation "Artsav 19" and Perestroika: remember to understand something .
- ↑ 1 2 We fought in Syria. There were not only advisers .
- ↑ 1 2 Group of Soviet military specialists in Syria
- ↑ The military potential of Syria. Can Syria repel NATO aggression? // modernarmy.ru
- ↑ Expert: Air Defense in Syria is a serious force // N-Idea.Am - Armenian News] (not available link)
- Си Syria defense: salvation or illusion? // National Defense
- ↑ [1] // dokwar.ru
- ↑ Syria's air defense against NATO aircraft: possible scenarios
- ↑ What will Syria fight in the event of aggression by the countries of the western coalition? - MIC.name
- ↑ Avtobaz now tracks Syrian militants
- ↑ RusArmy.com - Ground-based executive intelligence intelligence (IRTR) 1L222 Avtobaz
- ↑ Articles // MilitaryRussia.Ru - Russian military equipment (after 1945)
- ↑ The great Middle Eastern war will begin with Syria http://itar-tass.com/siriya-konflikt/739533
- ↑ Russian Defense Ministry: Belgian F-16, which struck in Syria, took off from the airfield in Jordan // The Theory of Discredit, October 20, 2016
- ↑ Damascus declared its readiness to shoot down Turkish aircraft in the sky over Syria // Gazeta.Ru
- ↑ Russia and Syria have created a unified air defense system in the territory of the republic // TASS , August 25, 2017
- ↑ Israel: Syria's air defense system shot down an Israeli military aircraft (rus.) , REGNUM news agency . The appeal date is April 17, 2018.
- ↑ The Pentagon has declared the ineffectiveness of the defense of Syria
- ↑ France urged not to accept statements about their participation in the strike against the ATS literally
- ↑ United States, United Kingdom and France strike at Syria
- Rie Syrie: Tous les missiles français ont atteint leur cible, affirme la ministre française des Armées , L'Orient-Le Jour (April 14, 2018). The appeal date is April 19, 2018.
- ↑ Peshkov, Alexander . Russia uses Tomahawks that have fallen in Syria to improve the air defense system (Rus.) And the Zvezda TV channel . The appeal date is May 6, 2018.
- ↑ The Defense Ministry revealed the wreckage of "smart" missiles shot down in Syria (Rus.) , RIA Novosti (20180425T1543 + 0300Z). The appeal date is May 6, 2018.
- ↑ Why Israel will not be able to destroy the S-300 // Vesti.lv, September 26, 2018
- ↑ The Defense Ministry will supply the S-300 complex to Syria // RIA Novosti
- ↑ Reflected raid: which air defense systems shot down Israeli missiles in Syria / rg.ru , 11/30/2018
- ↑ The Military Balance 2018. - p. 363.
- 2 1 2 https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-says-it-provided-syria-with-24-advanced-s-300-launchers-for-free/
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 https://www.iiss.org/publications/the-military-balance/the-military-balance-2018/
- 2 1 2 The International Balance Forces International IISS The Military Balance 2016. p. 353 s.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Damascus and his chariots | Weekly "Military Industrial Courier"