Syria
In 1946, Syria gained full independence from France. The country faced constant political instability and coups until the rise of Alawite military figure Hafez al Assad in 1970. Syria participated in all of the joint Arab wars against Israel from 1948 through 1973. Syria has a long-standing dispute with Israel over the Golan Heights, conquered by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War. In 1976, Syria occupied Lebanon, and continued to do so until 2005. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the government repressed an Islamist uprising with violent brutality. Bashar al-Assad came to power in 2000 after the death of his father who himself came to power in a military coup. Under Bashar, the regime sponsored jihadist attacks against the U.S. military in Iraq and built a nuclear facility, with North Korean assistance, which was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force. Since March 2011, the Arab Spring has challenged Bashar’s claim to leadership. In response to the unrest, Assad’s forces have slaughtered over 110,000 people, including via the use of chemical weapons. Assad receives extensive military support from Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah.
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Population22,457,336
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GDP$64.7 Billion
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Fit for Service9,939,661
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Military EXHD3.6% of GDP
Trump to Arm Syrian Kurds, Even as Turkey Strongly Objects
President Trump has approved a plan to arm Syrian Kurds so they can participate in the battle to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State, a strategy that has drawn deep opposition from Turkey, a NATO ally. American military commanders have long argued that arming the Y.P.G., a Kurdish militia fighting alongside Syrian Arab forces against […]
A Russian-Backed Deal on ‘Safe Zones’ for Syria Leaves U.S. Wary
Russia, Iran and Turkey said Thursday that they have agreed to create “de-escalation zones” across four areas in Syria, renewing diplomatic efforts to bring warring parties in the country to heel after six years of fighting. Meeting in the Kazakh capital, Astana, the three powers said the cease-fire deal would come into force Saturday and would apply to […]
Islamic State Developing New Weapons Despite Losses: Arms Monitor
Islamic State militants have developed an improvised explosive device (IED) that can be launched from rifles or dropped from an aerial drone, an arms monitoring group said on Wednesday. Conflict Armament Research (CAR) said the Sunni militant group was “promoting the development of ‘own-brand’ weapons” to provide its insurgents with otherwise unavailable armaments. “The (IED) […]
Russia Pledges to ‘Increase Effectiveness’ of Syrian Air Defenses
Russia has pledged to “increase the effectiveness” of the Syrian military’s air defenses after a U.S. airstrike on an airfield held by Syrian forces, Russian news agency Interfax reports. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Friday that Moscow would take steps to “strengthen and raise the effectiveness of the Syrian armed forces’ systems of anti-aircraft […]
Russia Sends Syria Its Largest Missile Delivery to Date, US Officials Say
Russia has just sent Syria the largest shipment of missiles between the two countries to date, the latest delivery between the two allies that could further change the stakes in the Middle East, U.S. officials told Fox News on Wednesday. The shipment of 50 SS-21 short-range ballistic missiles arrived at the Syrian port of Tartus along […]
Islamic State Steps Up Oil and Gas Sales to Assad Regime
Islamic State has ramped up sales of oil and gas to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. and European officials said, providing vital fuel to the government in return for desperately needed cash. The regime’s purchases are helping sustain Islamic State amid unprecedented military pressure on the militant group in both Syria and […]
Fearing Abandonment By Trump, CIA-backed Rebels in Syria Mull Alternatives
Three years after the CIA began secretly shipping lethal aid to rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, battlefield losses and fears that a Donald Trump administration will abandon them have left tens of thousands of opposition fighters weighing their alternatives. Among the options, say U.S. officials, regional experts and the rebels themselves, are a […]
Syrian Rebel Group Supplied with Anti-Air Missiles
A Syrian rebel group has paraded a cache of shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, the first evidence of the weapons being supplied to opposition forces after an expected relaxing of US restrictions. Members of the Ansar al-Islam Front were shown in a video posted on 20 November testing SA-7 Strela-2 missiles. The group said they had a […]
In Syria Crisis, Russia Expands Alliance With Iran, Increases Missile Presence
Russian officials intensified their rhetoric over the Syria crisis Thursday, saying Moscow was stepping up cooperation with Iran and boosting its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean. The Russian military said Thursday that a new small warship armed with cruise missiles will join Russian’s naval grouping off the coast of Syria in the coming days, […]
Syrian Rebels Get New Rockets From Foreign States: Commander
Foreign states have given Syrian rebels surface-to-surface Grad rockets of a type not previously supplied to them in response to a major Russian-backed offensive in Aleppo, a rebel commander told Reuters on Wednesday. The Grad rockets with a range of 22 km and 40 km have been supplied in “excellent quantities” and will be used […]
Category Name
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QME
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Active Armaments
On Order
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Air Defense Systems
1,689* (0)
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↓
Active Armaments
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36
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8
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6
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40*
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35*
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50*
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14*
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20*
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8*
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40*
Aircraft 585* (56)
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0 (36)
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20 (12)
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58*
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94*
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130*
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35*
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39*
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20* (8)
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4*
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2*
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2*
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6*
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3*
Artillery 3,368* (0)
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50*
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150*
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500*
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400*
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800*
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20*
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50*
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10*
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200*
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80*
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700*
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10*
Ground Vehicles 7,491* (0)
Guided Munitions 7,580* (10)
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500*
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400*
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250*
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1,000*
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200*
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100*
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50*
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284*
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90*
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72*
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40* (10)
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40*