According to the Russian Ministry of Defense the Syrian air defense shot down a considerable part of the missiles.
Evgeny Nippot knows what equipment the country has for the air defense.
That is a salvage of the Tomahawk missile shot down by the Syrian air defense. The Syrian authorities tried to maintain the operability of the air defense systems, despite the exhausting conflict in the country.
Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the Natsionalnaya Oborona magazine: "The Syrian army was trained and equipped with the help of the Soviet Union. For the last several years, the Russian servicemen have been operating in Syria, and they helped the Syrians to plan and conduct ground operations against the terrorists and militants. It's clear that today Syria has only two military allies, which are Russia and Iran".
The base of the Syrian air shed is made up of the Soviet equipment, mainly the S-75, S-125 and S-200 complexes.
Victor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of the Arsenal Otechestva magazine: "Moreover, Russia has supplied Buk M2E mid-range air-defense complexes but this is about an insignificant quantity, about 1 or 2 battalions. Pantsir S air defense systems were also supplied, about 40 units. Apparently, 8 batteries with 4 units in each are defending mostly facilities in Damascus, and 2 batteries with 8 units each are used for training the air-defense specialists".
Experts say local military are trained by the instructors from Russia and Iran. The new equipment helped to enhance the potential of the Syrian air-defense. Thus, the Buk is capable of hitting targets at the height of about 20 kilometers, the effective range is more than 30, the complex can detect 24 targets at once. And the Pantsir is carrying 12 missiles. Moreover, it carries about 1,500 rounds which can hit targets at a range of 20 kilometers.
Victor Murakhovsky: "The most protected are: Damascus, government facilities such as the Ministry of Defense, the general staff, communication complexes, and some facilities near Damascus, such as the government airfield, And among the most protected are the objects near the Golan Heights, at the border with Israel, because the Syrian air-defense has been developed to resist the strikes from Israel".
Meanwhile, the Syrian authorities claim that due to the actions of the military, the missiles failed to reach all its targets on the territory of Syria. And the Ministry of Information has addressed the citizens, urging them "not to believe the enemy TV-channels, who intentionally exaggerate the scale of the attack."
Evgeny Nippot, "Vesti"
