American strike on an airfield in Syria. The United States launched a missile strike on Syria. photo. video. Is there a missile defense system in Syria?
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On April 7, at 3:40 am Moscow time, the US Navy launched a massive missile attack on the Syrian Shayrat airbase. According to the Pentagon, 59 Tomahawk sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs) were fired at the facility. As soon as the last missile reached its target, another political crisis began in the world.
As one would expect, information leaks and loud political statements followed. The missile strike immediately acquired strange details. In particular, information appeared in the Russian media that the Tomahawks were beyond their shelf life. This is precisely how the Russian Ministry of Defense explained the fact that only 23 cruise missiles out of 59 fired reached their targets. Let's try to understand not the political, but the military aspects of the missile strike by the American Navy
Southern route
Immediately after the missile strike, Western experts stated that Russian air defense systems were ineffective against American SLCMs. Is it so?
Currently, the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (AAMS) are deployed in Syria at the Khmeimim airbase and the S-300V4 at the naval base in Tartus. The combat operation of both air defense systems is ensured by modern radar equipment, and they are protected from attack by electronic warfare equipment and the Pantsir air defense missile system. Formally, both systems can hit targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers. But we are talking about objects at altitudes from hundreds of meters to tens of kilometers, and in this case, a compass and ruler are not enough for analysis. SLCMs fly low, up to 100 meters, in terrain following mode. The operating range of the latest Russian air defense systems, like their foreign counterparts, for such purposes is reduced significantly. According to open data, the S-400 and S-300V4 will cope with Tomahawks at a distance of 30–40 kilometers. And with a correctly constructed route, cruise missiles themselves will easily cover the positions of the air defense systems.
This problem is known, which is why the S-300V and S-400 SLCMs protect the Pantsir air defense missile system from attack. These complexes are specifically aimed at destroying low-flying targets - cruise missiles and drones. But Pantsirs also operate at a range of several tens of kilometers. Therefore, before blaming Russian air defense, it is necessary to determine at what distance the American missiles passed from the air defense system. But the Pentagon did not officially release information about the missiles’ route. The Russian military department also bypassed the flight path of the SLCM in the official message.
On Friday morning, diagrams appeared in the media, including Russian ones, where the missile route was laid along the coast of Syria and passed between two cities - Tartus and Latakia. It turns out that the missiles almost went over the heads of the Russian air defense. And later, photographs of debris from a rocket that fell in a village near the Russian naval base appeared on social networks.
Launch of the Tomahawk from the destroyer Porter
It would seem that the fact of the ineffectiveness of the latest air defense systems is obvious. Either the anti-aircraft gunners failed, or they were given orders not to interfere. But there are certain doubts about this version. Latakia and Tartus are the most populous Syrian provinces. Cities and towns there are located several hundred meters from each other. When flying at low altitude, rockets make a peculiar sound. A kind of whistling + rustling... Just watch the video with the Russian Kalibr SLCMs to understand what we are talking about. Here, almost six dozen missiles simultaneously flew over villages and small towns. Even though it was night time, this could not go unnoticed. But there are still no videos of this kind on the Internet, although given the population density in Latakia and Tartus, someone must have filmed what was happening.
Separately, it is worth dealing with the rocket that fell in Tartus. The presented fragments bear little resemblance to parts of the SLCM. It is enough to compare with those found directly on Shayrat. There is not a single manufacturer's plate, no technological inscriptions. And the parts themselves do not look like the remains of a high-tech product. Rather, they resemble the wreckage of tractors and lawn mowers, which the Islamists presented as shot down and fallen Russian Calibers. The only exception in the photographs presented is a capsule resembling a Tomahawk warhead in a titanium shell. But this object does not have an exact connection to the crash site.
Meanwhile, on Friday, reports appeared in the Syrian and Libyan media that at the same time as the United States, the Israeli Air Force also struck Syria. The reason for this conclusion was the noise of aircraft in the area where three borders converge: Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Later reports of attacks in Tel Aviv were not confirmed.
It is the area of the three borders that is especially popular among Israeli pilots flying to bomb Syria. The south of the country is poorly covered by air defense systems and radars, so it is more convenient to retreat or break through along the Jordanian border. It was along this route that the F-16Is that bombed Hezbollah units in March returned.
Therefore, it can be assumed with a high degree of probability that the SLCMs did not go through the Tartus-Latakia line: they crossed the Lebanese coastline and, heading east, entered Syrian airspace. Thus, they bypassed Russian air defense systems, as well as a powerful Syrian air defense area in the Damascus area. The missiles traveled from the S-400 and S-300V4 at a distance of 250–300 kilometers, and the distance from the Syrian Bukovs and Pantsirs was about 100 kilometers. After traveling several hundred kilometers, the Tomahawks turned north and hit Shayrat. This route is indirectly confirmed by the destruction at the airbase that occurred in the southern part.
The Pentagon, due to joint agreements, is well aware of the deployment of Russian air defense systems in Syria. Therefore, it is unlikely that the US military would take the risk of laying a route through the most air-defended areas of the country.
Rocket arithmetic
Debris discovered on Shayrat revealed that the US Navy had fired with the most advanced missiles - RGM/UGM-109E Block 4, also known as Tactical Tomahawk. Moreover, judging by the manufacturer’s plates, SLCMs refer to deliveries in 2014–2015. The warranty period of 30 years has clearly not expired for these missiles.
Initially, in the 80s, Tomahawks were created for one task - a massive attack on well-protected and fortified Soviet airfields on the Kola Peninsula, where Tu-22M3 missile carriers were based. To ensure the destruction of aircraft and air base infrastructure, it was necessary to destroy hangars, break up the runway and blow up storage facilities. Therefore, TLAM SLCMs (the official name of SLCMs in the US Navy) were equipped with powerful monoblock warheads weighing 454 kilograms and cluster munitions. Moreover, the monoblocks were placed in a case made of heavy-duty steel. Thanks to this solution, TLAM could penetrate several meters of concrete protection and destroy the target.
The air raid was divided into three waves. The first included missiles with both monoblock and cluster warheads. It destroyed air defenses and radars at airfields. The second wave consisted of rockets with monoblocks. They destroyed caponiers, shelters, runways and protected warehouses. The third wave is rockets with cluster munitions. They covered the entire airfield. Moreover, some of the ammunition was concrete-piercing, intended to render unusable the runways and taxiways of the airbase. As the experience of Iraqi Desert Storm, the operation in Yugoslavia, and the invasion of Afghanistan has shown, the US Navy quite often uses similar scenarios to neutralize enemy airfields.
However, the Tactical Tomahawk modification used in the raid was created primarily to support friendly troops in the war on terror. The control and course correction system based on GPS signals, in addition to the inertial one, provides an accuracy of tens of centimeters. At the final part of the trajectory, the missile compares its target with the embedded video image.
The image from the missile seeker is transmitted to headquarters and to the carrier ship. This guarantees against mistakes in choosing a target and defeat of your troops. Another innovation of the RGM/UGM-109E Block 4 was the ability to patrol in specified areas while awaiting commands for combat use. To achieve this, the rocket's fuel supply has been increased.
But the new quality had to be paid for with a mass of warheads. It dropped to 317 kilograms, and the high-strength steel shell was replaced by titanium. The actual explosives in Tactical Tomahawk are just over 200 kilograms. But it was precisely these characteristics that the Pentagon considered optimal for direct support of troops.
In many ways, the weakness of the warhead of the latest American missiles was the reason for the relatively low results of the strike on Shayrat. The US Navy clearly chose targets that were tough on the RGM/UGM-109E. Therefore, the choice fell on buildings, ordinary hangars, a fuel and lubricants warehouse and caponiers with thin walls. The list of targets did not include the runway and a number of thick concrete shelters where serviceable Su-22M4 aircraft were parked, which were later captured in media footage. Therefore, when speaking about the deliberate refusal to strike the runway, Donald Trump was not lying. It was pointless to hit the Tactical Tomahawk on the concrete take-off. But even with a reduced mission, the newest SLCMs did not cope with their targets very well. Yes, some of the concrete shelters containing aircraft and supplies were destroyed. But many objects escaped with only marks on the roofs from the activated warhead.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, knowing that 59 missiles were fired at Shayrat, imagined a destroyed base - with separated warehouses and caponiers, with a runway unsuitable for takeoff and landing. Therefore, when Russian military experts saw rather modest results, they came to the conclusion that not all missiles reached the target.
The use of the RGM/UGM-109E indicates a wild rush to make a decision to strike. That is, for the Americans, the fact of the raid itself was much more important than its result. Otherwise, the Pentagon would have moved the TLAM to a nearby base and reloaded the destroyer launchers. But this was not done.
A third of the Tomahawks that reached Shayrat were the result of deficiencies in AWACS aviation and weak missile defense in Homs province
However, there is another opinion that points to the shortcomings of Syria's air defense.
It is alleged that during the flight of RGM-109 near coastal Tartus, with 100% probability, in order to reference the difficult terrain, TERCOM sensors were activated on the missiles, including radio altimeters, which could instantly be direction-finded by executive RTR complexes of type 1L222 "Avtobaza" or other similar systems, after which the target designation was received by electronic warfare equipment, which disrupted the operation of the NAVSTAR modules and radio altimeters of the Tomahawk missiles.
Some of the Axes could have been intercepted by Syrian or Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems, or Igla-S type MANPADS, which are in service with units defending naval facilities in Tartus. There are quite a lot of options here, but there is still no official information.
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The main question is whether our air forces could have intercepted the remaining 23 Tomahawks on approach to the Ash-Shayrat airbase, given that in the vicinity of Homs the ground-based air defense component, represented by self-propelled short-range air defense systems, is extremely weak?
The answer is quite simple: they could, but the obstacle was the systemic shortcomings of our videoconferencing systems. The Mediterranean coast and the western territories of the Syrian Arab Republic are represented by a rather complex mountainous terrain, which creates difficulties in detecting, tracking and defeating low-altitude air attack weapons, and therefore it is very advisable to use AWACS aircraft in conjunction with multi-role tactical fighters Su-30SM, Su-35S and MiG-31BM. . As you know, Russian A-50Us are not on duty in Syrian skies on a regular basis, and this is simply a huge mistake! We saw the first consequences on April 7. The US Air Force, on the contrary, conducts regular electronic reconnaissance of our ground and air targets in Syria, using all known aviation systems (from Raptors and E-3G to RC-135V/W).
The A-50 AWACS aircraft perfectly detects small targets. That's why it was created.
Moreover, the Americans almost 1 hour before the launch of RGM-109 notified us of an impending attack on the Ash-Shayrat airbase, and the Tomahawks spent another 1 hour flying from the shores of the island of Crete (where the US-made Ross and Porter destroyers were located). to the coast of Syria. And therefore, the Russian Aerospace Forces had an excellent “trump card” in its hands. Even with the use of Sushki, equipped with N011M and N035 radars, more than a third of the missiles could have been destroyed over the Eastern Mediterranean without the use of the A-50U. For whatever reasons this did not happen, it still remains a puzzle... Well, let’s hope that by the time of the next aggressive action of the US Armed Forces in the Syrian Arab Republic, the air component of our Aerospace Forces will be properly transformed, and the ground-based air defense systems of Syrian air bases will be properly strengthened.
Syrian losses
Initially, the Russian military department reported that six MiG-23 fighters were destroyed on the territory of the air base. But after the restoration work was carried out, the list of losses was clarified. It is already known for sure that American missiles destroyed one Su-22M4 fighter-bomber, five older Su-22M3 and three MiG-23 fighters. The radar of the Kub air defense system battery and the launcher of the Iranian M600 tactical missile system were also eliminated. At first glance, the loss of nine combat fighters is a serious loss for the Syrian Air Force. But is it?
Broken launcher of the Iranian M600 tactical missile system
The Su-22M3 is an export version of the Soviet Su-17M3. The machine is quite difficult to operate, equipped with an R-29BS-300 engine. Now these engines have already been discontinued and are almost out of stock. Therefore, with a high degree of probability, the Su-22M3 was not combat-ready and unsuitable for repair. The same cannot be said about the Su-22M4. Judging by the video footage of the battles in Syria, it and the MiG-23 were until recently the main workhorses of the Syrian Air Force. Therefore, the loss of four such vehicles is quite sensitive. But it is by no means fatal. Last year, Russia transferred a batch of modernized Su-24M2 front-line bombers to the Syrian side. Currently, these machines carry the main load.
And the M600 launcher is just a truck with a primitive guide in the back. The missile system itself is a fairly effective weapon, but its cost is low.
If we put aside the political component and evaluate the strike from a military point of view, the result is not in favor of the Pentagon. A lot of money was spent, but it was not justified - the airfield was not put out of action. The Pentagon knew very well that the Tactical Tomahawk was clearly not up to the task. But still, the decision to launch was made.
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Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption Footage taken at the base shows burnt out hangars with planes in them.
The United States used 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike the Syrian Shayrat airbase. These precision-guided munitions, capable of penetrating enemy missile defenses, are expensive weapons: each missile costs the US budget approximately a million dollars.
Thus, the Americans decided to punish the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which they accuse of using chemical weapons against residents of the small village of Khan Sheikhoun, resulting in the death of more than 70 people, many of whom are children.
It is difficult to judge what damage was caused to the airbase - conflicting information is coming from Syrian sources on the ground, from official Damascus and from the Russian military.
However, it can be assumed that the missiles destroyed several aircraft, warehouses and other buildings at the airfield.
How did this happen?
On the night of April 7, the US Navy destroyers Ross and Porter fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea at the Syrian airbase of Shayrat in Homs province.
The air base belonged to Syrian government forces, but Russian Air Force aircraft used it as a “jump airfield” during combat missions.
Information about casualties of Russian military personnel or damage to Russian military property was not officially reported.
The United States warned Russia about the impending attack, and perhaps, if there were Russian specialists at the base, they had time to evacuate them. A Pentagon spokesman said that during the planning of the operation, the US military did everything to avoid the deaths of Russian and Syrian troops.
The US airstrike killed 10 soldiers, the Syrian army said. The Syrian state news agency SANA reports the deaths of nine civilians, including four children. According to the agency, the deceased lived in a village near the air base. Many houses in the base area were seriously damaged.
On Friday morning, after the attack on the airfield, it became known that Russia was suspending the memorandum with the United States on preventing incidents and ensuring the safety of aviation flights during the operation in Syria.
Image caption Tomahawk cruise missileIt was this mechanism that the Americans used to warn about shelling of a base where Russians could be located. Communication channels remain between the two countries, but this one, closed after the shelling, was created specifically for the rapid exchange of operational information.
Is there a missile defense system in Syria?
Russian missile defense systems S-200, S-300, S-400 and Buk-M2 are deployed at the Khmeimim airbase in Syrian Latakia. The main task of these complexes is air cover of Russian military installations.
In addition, the missile cruisers "Moskva" and "Varyag" are periodically stationed off the coast, which are also equipped with the naval version of the S-300 - the Fort air defense system, although now these ships, judging by open sources, are not there.
Finally, the airbase also houses short-range systems that protect, among other things, long-range air defense systems, including from cruise missiles.
The Syrian air defense forces are equipped with long-range S-200VE complexes, medium-sized Buk-M2E, as well as various short-range systems.
Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption The strike was carried out by destroyers stationed in the Mediterranean SeaThe S-200VE systems were deployed in mid-March to intercept Israeli fighters that were carrying out strikes in Syria, but not a single missile hit the target. One interceptor missile.
Why weren't the Tomahawks shot down?
Russian complexes located in Latakia are capable of fighting cruise missiles, including the Tomahawk class, but only those that are heading towards an object in their immediate vicinity.
The Shayrat airfield is located at a great distance from Latakia (about 100 kilometers), and cruise missiles flying at low altitude are simply impossible to track with radar.
Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption Shayrat Air Base in April 2017The interception was also complicated by the short approach time of the missiles, as well as their large number - a total of 59 Tomahawks were fired.
The air base itself, apparently, was not covered from the air by systems capable of shooting down cruise missiles.
On Friday afternoon, a representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov, said that “in the near future, a set of measures will be implemented to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of the air defense system of the Syrian armed forces in order to cover the most sensitive objects of the Syrian infrastructure.”
He did not say which complexes would be deployed. It is also unknown which facilities Russia will strengthen the defense of.
What's the damage?
Information about the damage to the air base is very contradictory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said the strike destroyed a logistics warehouse, a training building, a canteen, six Mig-23 aircraft in repair hangars, and a radar station.
Previously, Russian state media reported that nine aircraft were destroyed in the airstrike. Syrian journalist Thabet Salem told the BBC, citing activists in northern Syria, that 14 aircraft were destroyed, as well as runways and warehouses.
Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption The US announced that the strike on the air base was retaliation for the use of chemical weapons by SyriaFinally, a short time after the strike, the Syrian military reported that the base had suffered "severe damage."
Correspondent of the Russian state TV channel Vesti 24 Evgeny Poddubny, who is in Syria, visited the base on the morning of April 7.
The footage he captured showed damaged hangars, some of which were empty of aircraft, as well as several burnt-out fighter jets.
In one of the frames, the silhouette of a dilapidated aircraft is clearly visible, and it does not look like the MiG-23 reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The plane is more similar to the Su-22 heavy strike fighter.
Such aircraft are in service with the Syrian Air Force, and footage taken by Poddubny shows the same undamaged fighters at the same airfield.
What remains of Syrian aviation?
It is very difficult to judge how serious this blow is for the Syrian Air Force. Firstly, it is not known exactly how many and which fighters were destroyed, and secondly, exact data on how many aircraft are in the Air Force as of April 2017 is also not publicly available. Finally, there is even less information about how many aircraft are in airworthy condition.
The website globalsecurity.org writes that in 2017 the Syrian Air Force had strike fighters of the following modifications: 53-70 MiG-21 units; 30-41 - MiG-23; 20 - MiG-29; 36-42 - Su-22; 11-20 - Su-24 (the latter are front-line bombers). In addition, according to the same source, Bashar al-Assad’s troops also have fighters for air combat: 20-30 - MiG-29; 2 - MiG-25; 39-50 - MiG-23.
Thus, even if we take the largest loss figure of 14 aircraft, then even in this case, the combat effectiveness of the Air Force after the attack by cruise missiles did not decrease critically.
In addition, the Russian aviation group, which was reduced in the spring of 2016, continues to operate in Syria. According to last year's data, it included at least a Su-24 squadron, as well as Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters and helicopters.
How much did the airstrike cost the US?
The cost of Tomahawk cruise missiles varies depending on how advanced the ammunition is.
Illustration copyright Getty Images Image caption The Russian aviation group remains in Syria, albeit in a reduced compositionIt is unknown what kind of missiles the destroyers fired on Friday morning, and therefore, according to open sources, the cost of a salvo of 59 missiles could range from $30 million to $100 million.
The most approximate cost of the MiG-23 and Su-22 fighters ranges from one to three million dollars.
There are casualties and wounded. This attack in Syria has already been called an act of aggression. Political scientists say that the use of force against an independent state can cause extremely dangerous consequences. As noted, Washington used false information about the alleged chemical attack as a pretext for the strike. Although the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has confirmed that all toxic munitions in Syria have been destroyed - with the exception of those that remained in territory controlled by terrorists.
“Tomahawks” cut the sky at 3:40 am local time. Several dozen cruise missiles - about 60 - were fired at Syria from two American destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea. The target is the Syrian Air Force's Shayrat airfield in Homs province, from where Washington believes the alleged chemical attack was launched last week.
The United States for the first time purposefully attacked the troops of Bashar al-Assad. By direct order from the commander in chief, President Donald Trump. Addressing the nation from Florida, where he awaits Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks, Trump explained the decision to launch a missile strike as “vital interests of the United States.”
“It is in the vital interest of the United States to prevent and contain the proliferation and use of deadly chemical weapons. There is no doubt that Syria used prohibited chemical weapons, violating its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and many UN Security Council resolutions. All recent attempts to change Assad's behavior have failed dramatically," Donald Trump said.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson placed some of the blame for the current developments in Syria on Russia, which, in his opinion, and these words are reported by Reuters, was unable to implement the agreement on Syrian chemical weapons concluded in 2013. At the same time, Tillerson allowed himself to say that Moscow is either “involved” or “incompetent.”
Just a couple of hours before the attack, negotiations failed at the UN Security Council, where three draft resolutions on the situation in Syria were discussed, but the parties were unable to reach an agreement.
“It is no secret that all these discussions in the Security Council are taking place against the backdrop of a real information clamor for the preparation of a military operation. We are also receiving direct signals on this topic that such a military operation is being prepared. What is most surprising is that no one asks the question about the possible consequences. We have now directly said at the consultations that the authors of such plans need to think thoroughly and look at what military actions in Iraq, Libya, and other countries have led to. All possible consequences will lie on the conscience of those who conceive such projects,” emphasized Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Vladimir Safronkov.
“A very serious escalation of tension in Syria, these are very big risks. This is again recklessness on the part of American politicians, who, it seems, have not learned anything from their own mistakes either in the war with Iraq in 2003, or together with NATO allies in the war in Libya in 2011, because the Americans never answered the question, and what then - they struck, weakened the Assad government, and what then, because complete chaos could arise in Syria, and, in addition, these are also attacks on the peace efforts that Russia has been making recently together with Syria and other mediators in order to find a peaceful way to resolve the Syrian process,” said Elena Suponeva, Advisor to the Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies.
Syrian state television called the US missile attack on a government base an "act of aggression."
“Steps to remove Assad are already being taken,” said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, although just the other day Washington said that the task of overthrowing the regime was no longer necessary. An amazing 180-degree turn by the Trump administration.
“By a strange coincidence, a sharp tightening of the American attitude towards Assad occurred just a couple of days after its softening (the White House recently stated that the removal of the current regime is no longer a priority). One gets the strong impression that neither the Pentagon nor the American intelligence services agreed with this thesis, and Trump was immediately backed up against another wall with “irrefutable evidence.” How can one not recall Colin Powell’s notorious Iraq test tube?” - said Konstantin Kosachev.
At the same time, it is obvious that the United States committed this act of aggression without even bothering to understand anything. To demonstrate force, they used the first pretext that came up - the unproven use of chemical weapons by Damascus, although investigations into this matter were not even started. At the same time, the West did not notice the repeated use by militants of the banned ISIS and Al-Nusra in Iraq and Syria.
Congressmen, including Republicans, are outraged by Trump: according to the Constitution, the president is required to obtain permission from them for military action. And they learned about the attacks on Syria from news broadcasts. Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky reminded Trump that previous cases of Washington's interference in the affairs of this region did not increase US security, and now, Paul believes, it will be the same.
As a result of rocket attacks in Syria, there are dead and wounded, and the airfield is reported to have been heavily damaged. The provincial governor believes that the United States is only helping terrorists with its actions.
“Extinguishing the fire and evacuating people injured as a result of the attack on the airfield has been going on for several hours. This attack was an act of aggression by the United States, which supports terrorist groups. The target of American missiles was an object that plays an important role in the fight against militants. This did not surprise us, we have encountered this before, and it will certainly happen again. But, no matter what, we will continue our war against terrorists,” said Talal Barazi, Governor of Homs Province.
The situation in Syria escalated sharply last week: on the outskirts of the village of Khan Sheikhoun, dozens of people died from the use of chemical weapons. Washington accused Assad’s troops of using prohibited methods, Damascus denied everything, and the Russian Ministry of Defense said that Syrian aircraft struck a warehouse where the terrorists, as it turned out, were also storing prohibited chemical ammunition.
“Judging by what can be observed from video footage from helicopters, the United States has not achieved its goal,” former Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, retired Lieutenant General Aitech Bizhev told the VZGLYAD newspaper. The expert also commented on the reasons why the Syrian air defense was not very effective, and said what an analysis of the telemetry of American missiles would give the Russian military.
Russian anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) are guaranteed to cover the Russian Navy facilities in Tartus and the Aerospace Forces at the Khmeimim base. The VKS airbase is protected by S-400 and Pantsir air defense systems. The logistics support point for the military fleet in Tartus is covered by a group of Pantsirs and S-300s. This information was disseminated by official representative of the Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov on Friday.
Combat crews of Russian air defense systems in Syria are on duty around the clock, TASS quotes Konashenkov.
This is how an official representative of the Ministry of Defense commented on the situation that developed after the US missile attack in Syria. The Syrian government base of Shayrat in Homs province was hit by Tomahawk cruise missiles, killing at least 10 people, including civilians. President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Security Council qualified the incident as an act of aggression against a sovereign state.
Of the 59 cruise missiles fired from US Navy destroyers, only 23 reached the target, Konashenkov stated (however, the Americans say something completely different). Konashenkov also said that the Ministry of Defense plans to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of the Syrian air defense system.
Was it possible to avoid an American strike, for example, by covering the Syrian base with the help of S-300 and S-400 air defense systems? Former Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, retired Lieutenant General Aitech Bizhev answered these and other questions in a conversation with the newspaper VZGLYAD.
OPINION: Aitech Magomedovich, do you agree with Igor Konashenkov’s assessment that the American massive missile attack on the Syrian Shayrat airbase had extremely low combat effectiveness?
Aitech Bizhev: Judging by what can be seen from helicopter videos, the United States did not achieve its goal. The main thing: the runways of the Shayrat base are combat-ready, taxiing and some of the aircraft are also in combat-ready condition. Some caponiers are out of action, some remain. The airfield suffered some damage, but combat readiness was generally maintained.
OPINION: At the same time, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, noted that out of 59 missiles, only 23 flew from US Navy destroyers to the Syrian air base.
A.B.: A lot of cruise missiles were fired. But based on the results: the effectiveness of the operation is, of course, low. The flight missions were not completed. 23 missiles reached the target, and this suggests that either the missiles have not been tested for a long time, or are outdated in terms of storage time. Evaluation and analysis take time.
OPINION: Why were 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched, no more, no less?
A.B.: The military has a calculation of the deployment of forces to the facilities. For each object, the amount of ammunition that will help complete the combat mission is calculated. The calculation of the force was as follows: about 60 Tomahawks would be enough to complete the task - to destroy this airfield as an object. They are powerful, they have a fairly powerful warhead. But not everything was done.
OPINION: Is it possible to compare launches of Tomahawk missiles in terms of effectiveness with launches of Caliber missiles?
A.B.: Caliber missiles are a newer development. Tomahawks were developed back in 1983, but they are still quite effective. So, in terms of tactical and technical characteristics, “Caliber” and “Tomahawk” are approximately the same: both in flight range and accuracy.
OPINION: Why was a missile strike possible in principle? How should the Syrian Air Force base be protected to avoid a strike?
A.B.: Due to the high speed of the Tomahawks, as well as their small reflective surface, the Syrian air defense system turned out to be ineffective. Our S-400 and Pantsir air defense systems were not stationed there... We need to figure out whether there was a radar field at the airfield, whether air defense systems were on duty to guard the airfield, and if so, which ones, outdated or not. In a day or two all this will be clear.
OPINION: The question immediately arose in the media and social networks: why was there no response from the Russian S-300 and S-400 systems?
A.B.: Our air defense systems are located where the Khmeimim airfield is. And the Americans knew this. The strike was carried out in a detour, that is, in such a way that the Tomahawks did not enter the effective range of our anti-aircraft missile systems.
In addition, there must be very serious reasons for carrying out strikes, since this could provoke hostilities between Russia and America. Moreover, they warned us, as expected, two hours in advance through existing communication channels that they would strike, so that we would remove all our forces and means from there.
OPINION: Konashenkov also said that the Ministry of Defense now plans to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of the Syrian air defense system. How can I do that?
A.B.: There must be intergovernmental agreements. The Syrian side should contact us to provide assistance, and then the issues will be considered. This is already a political component.
OPINION: Could the Russian military track the flight of American missiles? In other words, will the Tomahawk telemetry be analyzed? And what will this give?
A.B.: There is no doubt that analysis and debriefing is already underway: where and how the cruise missile strike was launched, how it was organized and what was accompanied by it. This is what always happens in similar cases. For example: when the Americans launched an attack on Libya in 1981, the command of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union decided to simulate this attack during exercises. The General Staff developed such an imitation, and about a month later, air defense systems were tested in the area of Novorossiysk and Rostov-on-Don. Just as in the case of the American operation, an “entry” was carried out from the sea. The exercises were called “Libyan Effect”. So in this case, everything necessary will be studied and simulated to test the capabilities of air defense.