Syrian Navy

Syrian Arab Navy
Founded 1946
Service branches Navy
Headquarters Damascus
Leadership
President of Syria Bashar al-Assad
Minister of Defence General Ali Mohammed Habib Mahmoud
Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Talib al-Barri
Manpower
Available for
military service
4,356,413 (2005 est.), age 15–49
Fit for
military service
3,453,888 (2005 est.), age 15–49
Reaching military
age annually
225,113 (2005 est.)
Active personnel 4,000
Reserve personnel 2,500
Expenditures
Budget $935 million to 2 billion (FY11)[1][2]
Percent of GDP 3.8% (FY00)
Industry
Foreign suppliers  Russia

The Syrian Navy is the smallest of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is under the Syrian Army's Latakia regional command with the fleet based in the ports of Baniyas, Latakia, Minat al Bayda, and Tartus.

Contents

History

In 1950 the Syrian Navy was established following the procurement of a few naval vessels from France. The initial personnel consisted of army soldiers who had been sent to French naval academies for training.[3]

During the Yom Kippur War the Israeli Navy sank five Syrian ships without a loss during the Battle of Latakia. As a result the Syrian Navy remained in port for the rest of the conflict.[4]

Tartus

Tartus hosts a Soviet-era naval supply and maintenance base, under a 1971 agreement with Syria. The base was established during the Cold War to support the Soviet Navy's fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. Since Russia forgave Syria of three-fourths of its $13.4 billion Soviet-era debt and became its main arms supplier, Russia and Syria have conducted talks about allowing Russia to develop and enlarge its naval base, so that Russia can strengthen its naval presence in the Mediterranean.[5] Amid Russia's deteriorating relations with the West, because of the 2008 South Ossetia War‎ and plans to deploy a US missile defense shield in Poland, President Assad agreed to the port’s conversion into a permanent Middle East base for Russia’s nuclear-armed warships.[6] Since 2009, Russia has been renovating the Tartus naval base and dredging the port to allow access for its larger naval vessels.[7]

2011 Syrian Uprising

During the 2011 Syrian uprising, it is claimed that Syrian Navy warships supported a military attack by government forces against rebels in the town of Latakia.[8]

Equipment

2 Osa I
8 Osa II
10 TIR-II (IPS 18)
3 Polnocny B
1 Sonya class minesweeper
3 Yevgenya class minesweeper
11 Mil Mi-14PL Haze-A
2 Kamov Ka-28PL Helix-A

References