The Iranian deployment of its air defense system in Syria has been familiar to us for some time. We addressed the issue in an article in November 2021:
In recent years, the Iranians have preferred the transfer of advanced conventional air defense weapons to Syria via the Iranian corridor routes (land/air/sea). The deployment of these advanced Iranian weapons systems on Syrian soil, with the potential of being transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon, has increased and, in our estimation, even intensified the likelihood of military action against these weapons in the future.
On January 11, 2023, Newsweek’s weekly news magazine published an inquiry into Iran’s efforts to deploy tens of millions of dollars of air defense systems in Syria to prevent Israel from continuing its attacks. Newsweek quoted a senior security source saying that Iran is developing its capabilities as a joint project with the Syrian army, apparently intending to enable Iran’s independent operation of its air defense systems from within Syria.
Iran is helping Syria upgrade its radar system to detect and prevent Israeli attacks. According to the source, Fereydoun Mohammadi Saghaqi, deputy commander of the IRGC’s air arm, is in charge of the project.
In November 2022, we reported that the Iranians, in cooperation with the Syrians, had deployed Bavar 373 air defense systems in the area of Rakhlah, west of Damascus. We have recently come across more indications regarding the reinforcement of this deployment. The main goal of these air defense systems in the Rakhlah area is to protect the Damascus area from air strikes from the west.
The potential arsenal of Iranian-made air defense systems, part of which was deployed in Syria by the Iranians and which is operated in coordination with the Syrian army, consists of missiles, launchers, and radar systems. Likely, some of these weapons systems have also been handed over to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
IRGC AIR DEFENCE SYSTEMS
