Russia expands air defense network in Syria to US dismay: Report
Russia has reportedly completed an advanced anti-access/area denial network in Syria, posing a challenge to US military presence in the Arab country and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in new report that in 2015, Russia began to establish a partial independent air defense network in Syria to protect its military assets at the Hmeimim Airbase and Tartus Naval Facility on the Mediterranean Coast.
Since then, the report said, Moscow has deployed S-300 and S-400 missile defense systems as well as four unique electronic warfare systems to Syria.
It also stationed at least one advanced 1L122-1E targeting radar and Barnaul-T mobile command-and-control system for short-range air defense systems in the war-torn state, the report added.
The report further noted that Russia opted to expand its air defense network in Syria following the April 14 western missile strike on Syria and the September 17 accidental downing of an Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft in the country.
"Russia has finished an advanced anti-access/area denial (A2AD) network in Syria that combines its own air defense and electronic warfare systems with modernized equipment formerly commanded by Syria. Russia can use these capabilities to mount a long-term strategic challenge the US and NATO in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East," the ISW report said
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https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/12/02/581738/Russia-Syria-air-defense
