Syrian Army

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Military of Syria
Founded 1946
Service branches Syrian Army
Syrian Navy
Syrian Air Force
Syrian Air Defense Force
Police and Security Force
Headquarters Damascus
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief Bashar al-Assad
Minister of Defence Ali Habib Mahmud
Manpower
Military age 18
Conscription Mandatory for all males
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.)
Expenditures
Budget 858 million-1 billion (FY00 est.)
Percent of GDP 5.9% (FY00)

The Syrian Army is the ground defence force of Syria; it is the dominant military service in the country, controlling the seniormost posts in the armed forces, and has the most manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. In 1985 army regulars were estimated at 396,000, with an additional 300,000 reserves. The army had eleven divisional units. The major development in force organization was establishment of an additional divisional framework based on the special forces and the organization of ground formations into three corps. The army's active manpower served in three all-arms army corps, seven armored divisions (with one independent armored brigade), three mechanized divisions, one Republican Guard division, a special forces division and ten independent airborne-special forces regiments.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Original organization

As Syria gained independence in 1946, its leaders envisioned a division-sized army. The 1st Brigade was ready by the Syrian invasion of Israel on May 15, 1948. It consisted of two infantry battalions and one armored battalion. The 2nd Brigade was organized during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and also included two infantry battalions and one armored vehicle battalion.[1]

[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 (mostly notable for the Hama Massacre).

[edit] Current structure and organization

A Syrian soldier aims an AK-47 assault rifle from his position in a foxhole during a firepower demonstration, part of Operation Desert Shield.
  • 200,000 personnel plus 280,000 conscripts, total 480,000[2]
  • 3 Corps HQ
    • 1st Corps Damascus covers from Damascus and the fortified zone and south to Der'a near the Jordanian border
    • 2nd Corps Zabadani covers north of Damascus, to Homs and includes Lebanon.
    • 3rd Corps Aleppo based in the north and covers Hama, the Turkish and Iraqi borders, the Mediterranean coastline and is tasked with protecting the complex of CBW and missile production and launch facilities. Controls the Syrian Navy
  • 10 divisions - each with three active and one reserve brigade.
    • 7 Armoured Divisions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th).[3] 9th Armored Division served in the 1991 Gulf War as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action.[4]
    • 3 understrength mechanised divisions (4th, 7th, and 10th) - each with one mechanized and two motorized brigades
  • 4 independent infantry brigades
  • 14th as Saiga Division (Command?) with 3 Special Forces regiments; plus ten independent regiments
  • 2 independent artillery brigades
  • 2 independent anti-tank brigades
  • Missile Command with three Surface-to-surface missile brigades (each with 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 4 SS-C-1B Sepal launchers, one with 6 P-15 Termit launchers, alternative designation SS-C-3 'Styx'). Also they are strong rumors that Syria received C-802 systems and 100 missiles from Iran.
  • One border guard brigade
  • The Republican Guard, a division equivalent with one artillery regiment, one mechanised brigade, and three armoured brigades.

On 3 September 1994, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that then-President Hafez Assad had dismissed at least 16 senior military commanders. Among them was Major General Ali Haidar, then commander of the Special Forces, and General Shafiq Fayyadh, a cousin of the President who had commanded the 'crack' 3rd Armoured Division for nearly two decades. The 3rd Armoured Division was 'deployed around Damascus.' JDW commented that 'the Special Forces and the 3rd Armoured Division, along with the 1st Armoured Division are key elements in the security structure that protects Assad's regime. Any command changes involving those formations have considerable political significance.'

[edit] Army Reserves

Army reserves total 300,000 soldiers, and form the following units:

  • 2nd Armored Division in Aleppo,
  • the 12th and 13th Motorized Divisions would be formed from the best of the two armored brigades, two independent armored regiments, 30 infantry brigades and three artillery brigades.

Reservist training is reasonable, however, equipment is old and of very poor quality and limited in number.

[edit] Weapons Inventory

[edit] Combat Vehicles

[edit] Main Battle Tanks

[edit] APC Scout

[edit] IFV

[edit] APC

[edit] Artillery

[edit] Towed Artillery

[edit] Self-propelled artillery

[edit] Towed Mortars

  • Soviet Union 82 mm (200)
  • Soviet Union M-160 160 mm (100)
  • Soviet Union M-240 240 mm (10)

[edit] Multiple Launchers Rocket Systems

[edit] Long Range Battle Field Rockets

[edit] Crew Served

[edit] Anti-Tank Missile Systems

RPG-7 with warhead detached

[edit] Army Air Defense Systems

[edit] Anti Air Gun Systems

[edit] Self Propelled AA Gun Systems
[edit] Towed AA Gun Systems

[edit] Surface to Air Missile Systems

[edit] MANPADS
[edit] Land based Air Defense Systems

[edit] Light equipment

[edit] References and sources

  1. ^ Morris, Benny (2008), 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, p. 251. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15112-1.
  2. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2006, p.208-9
  3. ^ Richard Bennett, The Syrian Military: A Primer, MEIB Bulletin, Vol. 3, No. 8, August/September 2001
  4. ^ Norman Schwarzkopf, It Doesn't Take A Hero, Bantam Books, 1993, p.467-9

[edit] Further reading

  • Kenneth M. Pollack, Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness 1948-91, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 2002, and Pollack's book reviewed in International Security, Vol. 28, No.2.
  • History of the Syrian Arab Army: prussianization of the Arab Army, the Arab Revolt of 1916-1918, and the cult of nationalization of Arabs in the Levant after World War I, Infantry Magazine, Nov-Dec 2005