The Syrian Air Defense Force is an independent command within the Syrian Armed Forces

Military of Syria

The Syrian Armed Forces are the military forces of Syria. They consist of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense Force.-Manpower:The President of Syria is the commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces, comprising some 646,500 troops upon mobilization. The military is a conscripted force;...

. It has been merged into and then separated from both the Syrian Arab Army

Syrian Army

The Syrian Army, officially called the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the...

 and the Syrian Arab Air Force

Syrian Air Force

The Syrian Air Force is the Aviation branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948.-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...

. The Syrian Air Defense Force controls twenty-five air defense brigades, each with six SAM

Surface-to-air missile

A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...

 batteries. It is equipped with 650 static SA-2, SA-3 and SA-5 launchers, 200 mobile SA-6 and SA-11 launchers and over 4,000 anti-aircraft guns ranging from 23mm to 100mm in caliber. There are also two independent SA-8 and SA-10 SAM Regiments, each with four batteries of 48 mobile SAMs.

The Syrian early warning system comprises Long Track; P-12 Spoon Rest

P-12 radar

The P-12 "Yenisei" was an early 2D VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.-Development:...

; P-14 Tall King

P-14 radar

The P-14 is a 2D VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.-Development:...

; H-15 Flat Face

P-15 radar

The P-15 "Tropa" or 1RL12 is a 2D UHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.- Development :...

; P-30 Big Mesh

P-30 radar

The P-30 "Khrustal" also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Big Mesh" in the west is a 2D E band/F band radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.- Development :...

; P-35 Bar Lock

P-35 radar

The P-35 also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Bar Lock" in the west is a 2D E band/F band radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.- Development :...

; P-80; PRV-13; PRV-16 Thin Skin mobile and static radar sites throughout Syria.

Current structure and organization

• 40,000 active personnel
• Two Air Defence Division
  Division (military)
  A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
  
   HQ
  • Twenty-five Air Defence Brigade
    Brigade
    A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
    
    
    • One hundred thirty Air Defence Batteries
      Artillery battery
      In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
      
      

25 teams defense (130 batteries) Including:

• Self-propelled
  • 62 batteries:
    • 11 teams - 27 batteries - SA-6 Gainful (PU SAM 2K12 Square);
    • 14 Battery - SA-8 Gecko (PU SAM 9K33 Osa);
    • 12 Battery - SA-22 Greyhound (96K6 Pantsyr S1E);
    • 9 Battery - Buk-M2
• Towed
  • 11 teams - 60 batteries with SA-2 Guideline (CP-75 Dvina / S-75M Volga) and SA-3 Goa (S-125 Neva / S-125M Pechora) (Being upgraded);
• Two SAM regiment with SA-5 Gammon(in each brigade to 2 divisions for 2 batteries each).
  • Four SAM battalion
    • Eight Static/Shelter SAM
      Surface-to-air missile
      A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
      
       batteries

• Two independent SAM Regiment
  Regiment
  A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
  
  
  • Four SAM batteries with SA-8
  • Four SAM batteries with SA-10

Inventory

320 Lavochkin CP-75 Dvina/S-75M Volga

S-75 Dvina

The S-75 Dvina is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude, command guided, surface-to-air missile system...

 (SA-2) launchers - under upgrade 148 Isayev S-125 Neva/S-125M Pechora

S-125

The Isayev S-125 Neva/Pechora Soviet surface-to-air missile system was designed to complement the S-25 and S-75. It has a shorter effective range and lower engagement altitude than either of its predecessors and also flies slower, but due to its two-stage design it is more effective against more...

 (SA-3) launchers - under upgrade 48 PU-200 Angara (SA-5) launchers 200 2K12 Kub (SA-6) launchers 60 9K33 Osa

9K33 Osa

The 9K33 OSA is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system. "9K33" is its GRAU designation. Its NATO reporting name is SA-8 Gecko.-Description:...

 (SA-8) launchers 48 S-300 (SA-10) launchers 48 9K37 Buk (SA-11) launchers 50 Pantsir-S1

Pantsir-S1

Pantsir-S1 is a combined short to medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system produced by KBP of Tula, Russia mounted either on a tracked or wheeled vehicle or stationary...

 (SA-22) launchers

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
  International Security
  International Security is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and published four times a year by MIT Press, both of Cambridge,...
  
  , Vol. 28, No.2.