Source : Sputnik
Of course ! He will not say otherwise. First assault for taking
Aleppo but just after like coincidentally :
Turkish Radar & EW Programs... | Page 18
Vladimir Putin takes personal charge of Syria ceasefire effort (The Guardian, Wednesday 24 February 2016 20.29 GMT)
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The Turkish-Russian Military Balance (The washington institute - December 18, 2015)
Quote :
RUSSIAN AIR DEFENSE ASSETS
Despite being outnumbered, Russian aircraft in Syria are now operating under an increasingly robust air defense umbrella. In the wake of the Su-24 shootdown, Moscow made clear that it was deploying the S-400 very-long-range air and missile defense system to Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia. It has also deployed the guided missile cruiser Moskva off the Eastern Mediterranean coast. The S-400 batteries provide multitargeting capabilities 200-300 kilometers into Turkish airspace, and boost Russia's radar surveillance and detection ranges. More important, the Syrian air defense architecture is based on Russian systems, so Moscow's S-400s and naval air defense platforms could be multilayered with some of Syria's systems. Such a configuration would provide unprecedented offensive and defensive advantages to the Russians.
In the Turkish Air Force's doctrinal order of battle, the 151st Squadron based in Merzifon is assigned to missions involving suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), and are equipped with AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs) for that purpose. Yet in a SEAD scenario against S-400 batteries in Syria -- especially if they are multilayered with other systems -- the squadron's losses could be rather high. This reality confirms the strategic warning issued in September by Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander-Europe, who voiced concerns about the establishment of a Russian antiaccess/area-denial (A2/AD) "bubble" in the region.
In other words, the Kremlin's decision to deploy advanced air defense systems in Syria goes well beyond political signaling. It is more of a military move to counterbalance Turkey and NATO's numerical advantages in a small theater of air-to-air operations. In fact, ever since Russian military reforms replaced the Soviet-era corps-regiment system with the air base-squadron system around the turn of the century, air defense units have been mostly merged with air force units. Last but not least, many Russian violations of Turkish airspace over the past couple months have been coupled with radar lock-on harassment by Syrian air defenses.
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ELECTRONIC WARFARE, NAVAL ASSETS, AND UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE
Since the outset of its Syria intervention, Moscow has placed special emphasis on the deployment of electronic warfare (EW) and intelligence assets. The IL-20 surveillance aircraft and Krasukha-4 EW system are especially noteworthy in this context.
Russia has already used the Krasukha-4 in Ukraine, causing great damage to enemy equipment. The system is believed to be capable of concealing an object from radar detection at 150-300 kilometers, as well as damaging enemy radars and communication systems and suppressing spy satellites. In a limited engagement scenario, Russia would probably use such systems to blind Turkish assets. And if Turkey opted to take out the Krasukha-4s using HARMs, it would have to execute that operation against a menacing air defense umbrella that could inflict significant losses on its aircraft.
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