Israeli Air Force Claims To Reach Total Air Superiority In Syria: Destroy One Of The Strongest Air Defense Systems
JAKARTA - The Israeli Air Force (IAF) claims to have achieved total air superiority in Syria, a country rated as one of the strongest air defense owners in the Middle East.
The claim comes after more than a decade of avoiding air defenses over Syria's skies during a campaign against Iran's arms supply to Hezbollah.
Israel's bombing campaign earlier this week across Syria, aimed at eliminating advanced weapons that could fall into the hands of enemy elements after the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, also destroying most of the country's air defenses.
"The Syrian air defense series is one of the strongest in the Middle East and the blow it causes is a significant achievement for the Air Force's superiority in the region," the IDF said.
According to the military, the IAF managed to destroy 86 percent of the Assad regime's air defense systems across Syria, with a total of 107 separate air defense components and 47 other radars.
This figure covers 80 percent of the short to medium-range SA-22, also known as the Pantsir-S1 to 90 percent of Russia's medium-range air defense system SA-17, also known as Buk.
The two Russian-made systems have been a challenge for the IAF during the so-called campaign between the campaigns or Mabam, as known by its Hebrew acronym aimed at countering Iran's arms shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran-backed efforts by groups to gain a foothold in the country, which began in 2013.
VOIR éGALEMENT:
Only a handful of air defense systems remain in Syria, and the system is not considered a major threat to the IAF, which states the system can operate freely throughout the country's airspace.
This condition benefits the IAF, which previously did not fly directly over Damascus when carrying out attacks on targets linked to Iran in the capital, can now IAF. The IAF can also send reconnaissance drones to the Syrian capital without fear of being shot down by a advanced Russian-made air defense system.