http://tass.com/defense/940064
The airfield located some 120 kilometers away from Syria’s capital Damascus is one of the major bases of the Syrian Air Force.
The Syrian government forces have never lost control of the airbase since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
According to media reports, the Russian aerospace forces occasionally used Shayrat as a stopover base since 2015.
In late November 2015, a number of western media reported that Russia is planning to deploy its new Russian airbase at Shayrat. However, Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman Igor Konashrnkov dismissed these reports.
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http://tass.com/defense/940092
MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. Russia’s air defense systems firmly protect the Russian naval facilities in Tartus and at the Hmeymim air base round the clock, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov has told the media.
"The S-400 and Pantsir systems provide reliable protection for the Russian air group at the Hmeymim airdrome. Another group of S-300 and Pantsir systems deployed in Syria defends the naval logistics facility in Tartus," Konashenkov said.
He added that
"the crews of Russian air defense systems in Syria are on duty round the clock."
Two US destroyers, The Ross and The Porter launched 59 cruise missiles Tomahawk at Syria’s Sha’irat air base last night on orders from President Donald Trump. Four Syrian soldiers were killed, two went missing and four others were injured. The attack destroyed six MiG-23 planes, a radar station and a canteen room.
In 2016, several batteries of Russia’s air defense system S-300 were moved to the naval logistic facility at Tartus to provide protection for the base and Russian ships off Syria’s shores. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said a multi-tier defense system had been created around Tartus and the Hmeymim air base. At the end of November the newest air defense system S-400 was delivered to Syria after a Turkish F-18 fighter shot down Russia’s Sukhoi-24 bomber.
Pantsir systems protect Russian military facilities from low-flying aircraft and missiles. Also, the defense of Russian facilities incorporates the system Bastion, capable of hitting naval and ground targets 350-450 kilometers away.
Russia has helped Syria to restore the operation of its S-200 air defense systems that protect Russian bases from potential attacks from the east. Also, the Syrian army uses air defense systems Buk.
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http://tass.com/defense/940239
MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Syrian Army could not repel the U.S. missile strike at the Shayrat airbase in the early hours of Friday, as the Syrian air defense system covers separate facilities and, quite possibly, the Syrians did not have air defense missile systems around that base, Igor Korotchenko, the editor-in-chief of the Moscow-based National Defense magazine told TASS.
"In the first place, the Syrians have island-like air defenses," he said. "This means that the units and weaponry systems them have cover separate facilities. They don’t have an integrated air defense net and I don’t rule out there were no air defenses around that base at all."
"Secondly, apart from Pantsyr (a surface-to-air and antitank missile system TASS) all other systems are outdated because they were manufactured back during the Soviet era and they stand in need of upgrading," Korotchenko said. "That’s why the Syrians couldn’t rebuff the strike meaningfully."
He voiced the confidence that more strikes might follow, saying: "America has unsealed Pandora’s box and has demonstrated once again its thinking in the categories of a global policeman. This line of logic may prompt Trump to make new ill-conceived steps."
Viktor Murakhovsky, the editor-in-chief of Arsenal Otechestva (the Arsenal of the Homeland) magazine, also does not rule out a possibility of more missile strike. The next volley of missiles will likely target the facilities where, according to U.S. surmising, the Syrians store chemical weapons.
"In the first place, these are airbases and the bases of permanent deployment controlled by the Syrian government forces," he said.
Murakhovsky said on his part the Pentagon had warned the Russian side about the forthcoming strike.
"Our commanders at Hmeymim (airbase) received a notification two hours prior to the strike that is was coming up because the Americans had the apprehensions that Russian servicemen might turn out on the Shayrat base."
"Now that we’ve suspended effectuation of the Russian-U.S. memorandum on prevention of dangerous incidents in Syrian airspace, we won’t be receiving any notifications from the Americans and that’s a strong signal to them that they should behave reasonably," he said.
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