Syrian Army

Infobox National Military
country=Syria
name=
native_name=


caption=


caption2=
founded=1946
current_form=
disbanded=
branches=Syrian Army Syrian Navy Syrian Air Force Syrian Air Defense Force Police and Security Force
headquarters=Damascus
commander-in-chief=Bashar al-Assad
commander-in-chief_title=President of Syria
minister=
minister_title=
commander=
commander_title=
age=
conscription=
manpower_data=
manpower_age=
available=4,356,413 (2005 est.)
available_f=
fit=3,453,888 (2005 est.)
fit_f=
reaching=225,113 (2005 est.)
reaching_f=
active=
ranked=
reserve=
deployed=
amount=858 million-1 billion (FY00 est.)
percent_GDP=5.9% (FY00)
domestic_suppliers=
foreign_suppliers=
imports=
exports=
history=
ranks=

The Syrian army is the dominant military service, as such its controls of the seniormost posts in the armed forces, and has the most manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. In 1985 army regulars were estimated at 396,000, with an additional 300,000 reserves. The army had eleven divisional units. The major development in force organization was establishment of an additional divisional framework based on the special forces and the organization of ground formations into three corps. The army's active manpower served in three all-arms army corps, seven armored divisions (with one independent armored brigade), three mechanized divisions, one armored-special forces division, and ten independent airborne-special forces brigades.

History

Involvement in military conflict

* The 1948 Arab-Israeli War (against Israel)
* The Six Day War (against Israel)
* The Yom Kippur War (against Israel)
* The Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990),
** 1982 Lebanon War (against Lebanese militias, the PLO and Israel)
* The Persian Gulf War (against Iraq)

The Syrian armed forces has also been involved in keeping the order in Syria, for example by fighting a Muslim Brotherhood insurrection in the 1980s (mostly notable for the Hama Massacre).

Current Structure and Organization of the Syrian Army

*200,000 personnel plus 280,000 conscripts, total 480,000 [International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2006, p.208-9]
*3 Corps HQ
** 1st Corps [Damascus]
** 2nd Corps [Zabadani]
** 3rd Corps
*10 divisions - each with three active and one reserve brigade.
**7 Armoured Divisions (apparently 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th). [Richard Bennett, [http://www.meib.org/articles/0108_s1.htm The Syrian Military: A Primer] , MEIB Bulletin, Vol. 3, No. 8, August/September 2001] 9th Armored Division served in the 1991 Gulf War as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action. [Norman Schwarzkopf, It Doesn't Take A Hero, Bantam Books, 1993, p.467-9]
**3 understrength mechanised divisions (4th, 7th, and 10th) - each with one mechanized and two motorized brigades
*4 independent infantry brigades
*14th as Saiga Division (Command?) with 3 Special Forces regiments; plus ten independent regiments
*2 independent artillery brigades
*2 independent anti-tank brigades
* Three Surface-to-surface missile brigades (each three battalions), One brigade with FROG-7, one brigade with SS-21 Scarab, one brigade with Scud-B/C/D.
* Two coastal defence missile brigades (one with 4 SS-C-1B Sepal launchers, one with 6 P-15 Termit launchers, alternative designation SS-C-3 'Styx'). Also they are strong rumors that Syria received C-802 systems and 100 missiles from Iran.
* One border guard brigade
* The Republican Guard, a division equivalent with one artillery regiment, one mechanised brigade, and three armoured brigades.

Weapons Inventory

Combat Vehicles

MBT

* T-55/55MV (2150)
* T-62M/K (1000)
* T-72/72M (1600)
** About 1200 vehicles are stored.

APC Scout

* BRDM-2 (800)

IFV

* BMP-1 (2100)
* BMP-2 (100)

APC

* BTR-50
* BTR-60
* BTR-70
* BTR-152

Artillery

Towed Artillery

* 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) (600)
* 130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46) (600)
* 152 mm towed gun-howitzer M1955 (D-20) (20)

elf-propelled artillery

* 2S1 Gvozdika 122 mm (380)
* 2S3 Akatsiya 152 mm (50)

Towed Mortars

* 82 mm (200)
* M-160 160 mm (100)
* M-240 240 mm (10)

Multiple Launchers Rocket Systems

* 107 mm Type 63 (200)
* 122 mm BM-21 (280)

Long Range Battle Field Rockets

* FROG-7 (18)
* SS-21 (18)
* SCUD-B/C/D (26)

Crew Served

Anti-Tank Missile Systems

* AT-3 (SAGGER)
* AT-4 (SPIGOT)
* AT-5 (SPANDREL)
* AT-7 (SAXHORN)
* AT-14 (KORNET)
* MILAN
* RPG-29
* RPG-7

Army Air Defense Systems

Anti Air Gun Systems

elf Propelled AA Gun Systems

* ZSU-23-4 23 mm (400)

Towed AA Gun Systems

* M1939 37 mm (300)
* ZSU-23-2 23 mm (650)
* S-60 57 mm (675)
* KS-19 100 mm (25)

urface to Air Missile Systems

MANPADS

* SA-7 Grail (4000)
* SA-14 Gremilin (100)
* SA-18 Grous

Land based Air Defense Systems

* SA-8 Gecko
* SA-9 Gaskin
* SA-13 Gopher
* SA-19 Grison
* 2K12 Kub
* S-75 Dvina
* S-200
*SA-22

References and Sources

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", Vol. 28, No.2.