Military of Syria

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Military of Syria
Military manpower
Military age 18 years of age(2004)
Availability males age 18-49: 4,356,413 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service males age 18-49: 3,453,888 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually 225,113 (2005 est.)
Active troops 319,000 (Ranked 14th)
Main Battle Tanks 4,700 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures
Dollar figure 858 million-1 billion (FY00 est.)
Percent of GDP 5.9% (FY00)

The President of Syria is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces, comprising some 320,000 troops upon mobilization. The military is a conscripted force; males serve 24 months in the military upon reaching the age of 18. About 14,000 Syrian soldiers were deployed in Lebanon until April 27, 2005, when the last of Syria's troops left the country after three decades. [1]

The breakup of the Soviet Union — long the principal source of training, material, and credit for the Syrian forces — may have slowed Syria's ability to acquire modern military equipment. It has an arsenal of advanced surface-to-surface missiles, capable of reaching most of the populated areas of Israel, Syria's longstanding enemy in the region. In the early 1990s, Scud-C missiles with a 500-kilometer range were procured from North Korea, and Scud-D, with a range of up to 700 kilometers, is being developed by Syria with the help of North Korea and Iran, according to Zisser. [2]

Since the end of the Yom Kippur War with Israel, Syria has been developing chemical and biological weapons and is known to have relatively large arsenals of chemical weapons. Syria has focused the most on developing sarin and VX.

Syria received significant financial aid from Persian Gulf Arab states as a result of its participation in the Persian Gulf War, with a sizable portion of these funds earmarked for military spending. In addition, Syria is trying to develop defensive weapons to limit the Israeli abilities to attack it.

Military branches: Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force

Contents

[edit] Involvement in military conflict

The Syrian armed forces has also been involved in keeping the order in Syria, for example by fighting a Muslim Brotherhood insurrection in the 1980s (most notable for the Hama Massacre, in which the Syrian Army played a part).

[edit] International disputes

Since 1967, part of the Golan Heights territory of South East Syria is under Israeli military occupation or annexation. Since 1973, the cease-fire line has generally been respected by both sides, with very few incidents. Syria does not recognize the State of Israel. Syria also considers the Hatay Province of Southern Turkey to be Syrian territory and under occupation, but there has been no fighting over this issue.

The Syrian military is also believed to be actively supporting Lebanese and Palestinian militias such as Hezbollah, Hamas, PFLP-GC and Islamic Jihad. Until the 1990s, Syria supported the Kurdish PKK movement in the Turkish parts of Kurdistan.

[edit] Syrian Army

[edit] Current Structure and Organization of the Syrian Army

  • 200,000 personnel plus 280,000 conscripts, total 480,000[1]
  • 3 Corps HQ (1st, 2nd, and 3rd)
  • 7 armoured divisions (apparently 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th[2])
  • 3 understrength mechanised divisions (4th, 7th, and 10th)
  • 4 independent infantry brigades
  • 14th Special Forces Division with 3 SF regiments; ten independent regiments
  • 2 independent artillery brigades
  • 2 independent anti-tank brigades
  • three surface to surface missile brigades (each three battalions)(one brigade with FROG-7, one brigade with SS-21 Scarab, one brigade with Scud-B/C/D)
  • two coastal defence missile brigades (one with SS-C-1B Sepal, one with P-15 Termit, alternative designation SS-C-3 'Styx'.)
  • one border guard brigade
  • one Republican Guard division (one artillery regiment, one mechanised brigade, three armoured brigades)

[edit] Syrian Navy

Frigates: 2 Petya II

Missile Boats: 12 Osa II

[edit] Syrian Air Force

Syrian Air Force logo, provided by Scramble.nl

The Syrian Air Force (Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al Arabiya as-Souriya in Arabic) is the Aviation branch of the Syrian armed forces.

[edit] Markings

The roundel used by the Syrian Air Force has the same basic design as that used by the Egyptian Air Force. It consists of three concentric circles, with a red outer, white middle and black inner. The unique part of the Syrian roundels is the presence of two green stars in the white circle, which is reflective of the two stars on the national flag. The fin flash is also an image of the flag.

[edit] History

The end of World War II led to a withdrawal of the United Kingdom and France from the Middle East, and this included a withdrawal from Syria. In 1948, the Syrian Air Force was officially established after the first class of pilots graduated from flight schools in Britain.

The 1950s saw Syria and Egypt attempt to unify as the United Arab Republic, this was reflected in the Syrian Air Force with growth in personnel and aircraft. However, this union would not last. With the ascent to power of the Baath Party and Hafez Al-Asad, Syria began looking to the Soviet Union for help and built closer ties with the USSR. This in turn led to a massive influx of Soviet equipment to the Syrian Armed Forces, including the Air Force.

The Syrian Air Force, despite its training and capabilities never fared well against Israel. In the Six-Day War, the Syrian Air Force was defeated rapidly, losing two-thirds of its forces with the rest retreating to bases in remote parts of Syria. This in turn helped the IDF in defeating the Syrian Army on the ground and led to the loss of the Golan Heights.

The Yom Kippur War provided initial success for both Syria and Egypt. Though again Israel scored far more casualties in the air then it endured. Following this conflict, the Syrian Air Force continued to remain in the Soviet sphere of influence, whereas Egypt abandoned Soviet aid, and began building its Air Force with American, French, and Chinese equipment.

Despite Syria's continued supply of Soviet equipment its Air Force again fared badly during conflicts with Israel over Lebanon in the early 1980s, losing over 80 planes while the Israeli Air Force lost only a handful, and none to Syrian Air Force fighters.

Since then, the Syrian Air Force has continued to rebuild with Soviet equipment. However the full extent of this rebuilding is not known. Nor are the exact numbers of planes or what types of aircraft are in the Air Force. This is due to the amount of secrecy maintained by the Syrian government in regard to its military. It is known though that the Syrians have proccurred MiG-29s and Su-24s which should give its Air Force a great boost, though rumours regarding the recent purchase of some Su-27s appear to be unfounded.

[edit] Aircraft

-Fighters

Syrian Air Force Roundel
Enlarge
Syrian Air Force Roundel

A-Ground Attack:

B- Multirole:

C-Interceptors:

-Helicopters:

-Transports:

-Air-to-air Missiles:

-Air-to-surface Missiles:

-Surface-to-air Missiles:

[edit] Defections

In comparion to other Arab air forces, Syria Air Force highest number of defections, mostly to Turkey, including:

  • In 1965, a Syrian pilot defected with MiG-17F to Israel.
  • In July 1988, two Syrian pilots defected with their MiG-29's to Turkey.
  • In April 1989, a Syrian pilot defected with his MiG-23ML to Turkey.
  • In October 1989, Syrian pilot Abdel Bassem landed his MiG-23ML in Israel.


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Lists relating to aviation

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Aircraft • Aircraft manufacturers • Aircraft engines • Aircraft engine manufacturers • Airports • Airlines
Air forces • Aircraft weapons • Missiles • Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) • Experimental aircraft
Notable airline accidents and incidents • Famous aviation-related deaths

[edit] See also

[edit] References and Sources and Further Reading

  1. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2006, p.208-9)
  2. ^ Richard Bennett, http://www.meib.org/articles/0108_s1.htm

[edit] External links

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