Syrian Navy
Syrian Arab Navy | |
---|---|
الْبَحْرِيَّةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ | |
Engagements |
|
Commanders | |
Vice Admiral Yasser al-Haffi[3] | |
Aircraft flown | |
Helicopter | Mil Mi-14, Kamov Ka-25, Kamov Ka-28 |
The Syrian Navy (SyN or SN), officially the Syrian Arab Navy (SyAN or SAN;
History
On 29 August 1950, the Syrian Navy was established following the procurement of a few naval vessels from France. The initial personnel consisted of army soldiers who had been sent to French naval academies for training.[4]
29 August is considered an annual holiday for the Syrian navy, which is celebrated every year,[5] and it was also chosen because it was the anniversary of the naval Battle of the Masts in 654.
Yom Kippur War
During the Yom Kippur War on 6–7 October 1973, the Syrian Arab Navy engaged for the first time in naval battle with Israeli ships in the Latakia area. It was the first battle in history in which both sides used sea-to-sea missile boats in combat.[6]
The
When the Israeli fleet advanced, it found the main forces of the Syrian fleet, the strongest and most modern militarily, which consisted of three missile boats (two Komar-class missile boats along with an Osa I-class missile boat, a K-123 torpedo boat and a T43-class minesweeper).[8]
The Syrian boats launched their missiles from a long range that the Israeli ships could not launch from. However, the Israeli fleet had an anti-missile system that could mislead its radars and keep them away from their targets. In real combat however, they succeeded completely and all the missiles missed the target. As a result of the battle, all 5 Syrian ships participating in it were sunk, the Israelis did not suffer any losses.[9]
On 29 August 1989, a Syrian missile boat sank the Maltese tanker Sunshield, which attempted to enter the prohibited zone.[10]
Syrian civil war
During the
Ranks
The rank insignia of
Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Syrian Arab Navy[13]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
فريق Fariq |
عماد أول Eimad 'awal |
عماد Eimad |
لواء Alliwa' |
عميد Amid |
عقيد Aqid |
مقدم Muqaddam |
رائد Ra'id |
نقيب Naqib |
ملازم أول Mulazim awwal |
ملازم Mulazim |
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Syrian Arab Navy[13]
|
No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
مساعد أول Musaeid 'awal |
مساعد ثاني Musaeid thani |
مساعد Musaeid |
رقيب أول Raqib 'awal |
رقيب ثاني Raqib thani |
رقيب Raqib |
عريف Earif |
جندي أول Jundiun 'awal |
جندي Jundiun |
Personnel
The number of recruits for the Syrian Arab Navy has reached 4,000 soldiers and 2,500 reservists since the year 1985, and this number has not changed in the census in 2002. The proportion of navy personnel from the total number of recruits Syrian Arab Army was 1.4% in the year 1993.[14] This rose to 1.9% of the total armed forces personnel in the year 2000.[15]
Structure
The Syrian Arab Navy consists of the navy, coastal defense and naval aviation forces.
Marines
The Syrian Marines follows the forces of naval infantry, consisting of about 1,500 conscripts, whose primary role is to protect the three military naval bases in the country, which are divided into three units, each of which is to protect one of the bases. These Marines have three amphibious assault ships, each of which can carry 100 soldiers and five tanks.
In general, the Syrian Marine Corps did not receive any special or advanced armament and very little training in the use of amphibious ships, and in general its recruits are only ordinary soldiers and do not have any experience in the ways of fighting as Marines. Although the
The marines did not participate in any real amphibious naval landing during any of the wars Syria was involved in. Instead, they were used as infantry with a direct ground clash in the
Coastal Defense
The Syrian Coastal Defense Forces were placed under the command of the Syrian Arab Navy since 1984. The coastal defense consists of brigade infantry, each of which is responsible for monitoring a specific coastal sector, and in addition to them, there is a battalion that monitors. In addition to these forces, there are two artillery battalions armed with 18 artillery pieces, 130 mm caliber M-46.[16] The Syrian coastal defense is also armed with Styx, Sepal, YJ-83 and P-800 Oniks missiles, as well as K-300P Bastion-P coastal defense missile system.[4][17]
Bases
Syrian Navy's headquarters is in Damascus and main base is at Latakia on the Mediterranean Sea with other naval bases at Baniyas, Tartus and Minet el-Beida.[4]
Al-Bayda port is located in the city of Baniyas, it was built specifically for naval military purposes. There are also training centers for naval officers and special soldiers in the port, and some transport ships dock there.[4]
The Port of Tartus is the main base of the Syrian Navy, where the two navy frigates, its three amphibious ships and all its minesweepers dock, as well as some missile boats and navy transport ships.
Russian base in Tartus
Tartus hosts a
Fleet
Ship
Class | Image | Type | Ships | Origin | Quantity | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Missile boat | ||||||
Osa I & Osa II |
Missile boat | Soviet Union | 16 | 6 Osa I and 10 Osa II | ||
Tir II (IPS 18) |
Fast Attack Craft Torpedo boat |
Iran | 6 | Believed to be locally produced by North Korean patrol boats.
| ||
Patrol craft | ||||||
Zhuk class | Patrol craft | Soviet Union | 8 | 23.8 m inshore vessels. | ||
MIG-S-1800 class |
Patrol craft | Iran | 6 | Monohull and catamaran produced by | ||
Minesweeper | ||||||
Sonya class | Minesweeper | Soviet Union | 1 | |||
Yevgenya class | Minesweeper | Soviet Union | 5 | |||
Natya class | Minesweeper | Soviet Union | 1 | |||
Amphibious warfare | ||||||
Polnocny B | Landing ship tank | Poland | 3 | |||
Training ship | ||||||
Unknown | Training ship | Al Assad | Poland | 1 | 3,500-ton. Used as a cadet training ship by the Syrian naval academy.[26] |
- 63rd Helicopter Brigade
- 618th Maritime Warfare Squadron[21]
Aircraft | Image | Version | Type | Origin | Quantity | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Helicopters | ||||||
Mil Mi-14 | Haze-A Haze-C |
Anti-submarine helicopter Search and rescue helicopter |
Soviet Union | 18 | ||
Kamov Ka-28 | Helix-A | Anti-submarine helicopter | Soviet Union | 4 |
Coastal defence
Model | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coastal defence | ||||||
C-802
|
Anti-ship cruise missile | China | (CSS-N-8 Saccade)[27] | |||
Noor | Anti-ship cruise missile | Iran | 10 systems | Delivered between 2009 and 2010.[28] | ||
P-800 Yakhont
|
Mobile anti-ship and surface-to-surface missile | Russia | 4 systems | (SS-C-5 Stooge) | ||
P-5 Pyatyorka
|
Cruise missile | Soviet Union | 4 systems | (SS-C-1 Sepal) | ||
P-15M/P-22[1] | Anti-ship missile | Soviet Union | 6 systems | (SS-C-3 Styx) | ||
M1954
|
Field gun | Soviet Union | N/A | M-46 |
Former vessels
The Syrian Navy once operated three Project 613 submarines. These were former the Soviet boats S-167, S-171, and S-183.[29]
They operated three Romeo-class submarines (S-1, S-53, S-101). Built in 1961 for Soviet Navy and transferred to Syria 1985-1987, decommissioned by mid-1990s and all scrapped by 1996.[30]
Syria had two Vanya-class minesweepers since 1972. All ships were retired by the mid-1990s.
They also had two Petya-class frigates in derelict condition at Tartus port.[31] Both probably retired in 2017 or 2018. One decommissioned Syrian frigate was sunk by the Russian Air Force as a training target on 15 April 2018 off the coast of Syria.[32]
List of vessels
The following table shows the strength of the Syrian Arab Naval Forces according to the year since 1990, in addition to the deals to be concluded in this regard until 2015:[4]
Class | Origin | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amur-1650 submarine | Russia | 2 | ||||||
Project 633 submarine | Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | |||||
Petya-class frigate | Soviet Union | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Osa-class missile boat | Soviet Union | 12 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 16 |
Komar-class missile boat | Soviet Union | 4 | 4 | |||||
Tir-class speedboat | Iran | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||
Zhuk-class patrol boat | Soviet Union | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Yevgenya-class minesweeper | Soviet Union | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
Natya-class minesweeper | Soviet Union | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
Sonya-class minesweeper | Soviet Union | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
T43-class minesweeper | Soviet Union | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Vanya-class minesweeper | Soviet Union | 2 | ||||||
Polnocny-class landing ship | Poland | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Training ship Al-Assad | Poland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Support ships | Unknown | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |||
Ghaem-class patrol boat | Iran | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Recent developments
Russia and Iran
In general, the Syrian Arab Navy did not have any modern equipment or weapons until 2006 (except for the OSA I and II anti-ship missile boats), in addition to its modest numbers of recruits compared to the 150-kilometre long Syrian coast. But since 2006, Russia and Iran began providing Syria with advanced weapons, providing it with heavy, short-range land-sea missiles, which are less expensive and more effective in battles than expensive torpedoes and boats, which are easily endangered during sea battles.[33]
Among the types of missiles that Iran and Russia supplied to the Syrian Navy are the
The Syrian Navy also has a third type of missile, the Russian-made
Syrian Navy hopes to receive two Amur-1650 class submarines. In 2015 a group of Syrian military officials arrived in Moscow to discuss prospects for bilateral military and technical cooperation, including the pair of submarines.[4] The Project-677 or Lada-class diesel submarine, whose export version is known as the Amur 1650, features a new anti-sonar coating for its hull, an extended cruising range, and advanced anti-ship and anti-submarine weaponry.
References
- ^ OCLC 1372013483.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link - ^ The Military Balance 2021 page 366
- ^ قائد القوى البحرية: سورية تواجه أعتى الحروب وستنتصر على الإرهاب Archived 2018-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Syrian Arab Navy". GlobalSecurity.org.
- ^ Under patronage of President al-Assad, Syrian Navy celebrates foundation day. Syrian Arab News Agency. Published 29 August 2022.
- ^ Latakia Battle. Access-date 19-04-2012. Archived 5 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Battle of Latakia. Sudanese Radio Information Center. Accessed 19-04-2012. Archived 22 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine [dead link]
- ^ Rabonovich, The Boats of Cherbourg, pp. 256–262.
- ^ Lerner, Adi (7 October 2011). "The Untold Story of Naval Heroism in the Yom Kippur War". Maariv (in Hebrew). Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Сирийские вертолёты над Ливаном". Archived from the original on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
- ^ "Syrian 'warships shell port city of Latakia'". Al Jazeera. 14 August 2011.
- ^ Tanks and warships bombarding neighborhoods in the city of Latakia And dozens of deaths. France 24 Channel. Published: August 15, 2011. Accessed August 19, 2011. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b "شعار الرأس" [Main logo]. mod.gov.sy (in Arabic). Ministry of Defence (Syria). Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ International Arab Encyclopedia - Second Edition (1999 CE), For “Encyclopedia Business for Publishing and Distribution”, Volume No. 13 letter (S), p. 219.
- Encyclopedia Britannica, p. 650.
- France Soir (in French). 19 October 2017. Archivedfrom the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Mitzer, Stijn; Oliemans, Joost (5 August 2016). "Photo Report: The Syrian Arab Navy". Oryx Blog.
- ^ مرفأ اللاذقي موقع غرفة الملاحة البحرية السورية. تاريخ الولوج [permanent dead link]
- ^ "عنوانسخة مؤرش". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016.
- ^ "حول مرفأ اللاذقية". Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b SYRIAN ARAB NAVAL AIR ARM
- ISBN 978-0-313-35434-2.
- DEBKAfile. 21 August 2008. Archived from the originalon 23 August 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- ^ "INSS: Syria Report" (PDF). Institute for National Security Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ Shapir, Yiftah (August 2007), "The Syrian Army Buildup" (PDF), Strategic Assessment, 10 (2), Tel Aviv, Israel: The Institute for National Security Studies
- ^ Re-examining Syria from a naval perspective. Naval-technology.com. Published 3 September 2013.
- ^ C-802 in Syria 7/7/2012 (video)
- ^ "Trade Registers". Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Medium Submarines Project 613". RussianShips.info. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Syrian Navy".
- ^ Oryx. "Photo Report: The Syrian Arab Navy". Oryx Blog. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ Marjanović, Marko (2018-04-26). "Russian Navy Hit and Sank a Decommissioned Frigate in Syria Live Fire Drills (VIDEO)". Anti-Empire. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ a b استنفار في القوى البحرية السورية والطوربيدات خضعت للصيانة وضعت في حالة تأهب قصوى. تاريخ النشر 03-03-2008. تاريخ الولوج 18-04-2012. Archived 2011-03-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ التفوق الإستراتيجي في البحر المتوسط لصالح البحرية السورية. تاريخ النشر 08-03-2012. تاريخ الولوج 18-04-2012. Archived 2018-06-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Haaretz (1 December 2011). "Report: Russia delivers supersonic cruise missiles to Syria". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ The International Institute for Strategic Studies 2022, p. 273.
Works cited
- The International Institute for Strategic Studies (14 February 2022). The Military Balance 2022. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-62003-0.