Airstrikes expose Syrian weaknesses
Analysts say failure to intercept any missiles shows military’s decline
WASHINGTON – Syria’s once wellregarded air defense system failed against the U.S.-led strike on chemical weapons facilities, highlighting how far the regime’s military has declined, according to the Pentagon and military analysts.
The Syrians fired 40 interceptor missiles, but most didn’t even get off the ground until allied missiles had already hit their targets, Pentagon officials said. The interceptor missiles appeared to lack guidance systems, the officials said.
“Nearly every one was launched after the last of our missiles hit their targets,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.
The failure highlights how ineffective Syria’s military has become and the degree to which it now depends on Russia and Iran, its principal sponsors, for security, said Christopher Kozak, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
U.S., French and British forces launched 105 missiles from aircraft and ships at three chemical weapons facilities in Syria on April 14 in response to a chemical weapons attack launched by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Russia claimed that Syrian defenses knocked down many incoming missiles, but the Pentagon said every weapon hit its intended target, dismissing the Russian comments as disinformation.
Syria has a relatively sophisticated air defense system, but a lack of training, command and control and other human factors are probably responsible for the failure, analysts said.