"Our offensive capacity will be based mainly on the Su-25 platform, but we also have other fighter-bombers." Within hours of the decision of the Russian Parliament's Upper House to grant permission to the Russian president to use the armed forces in Syria and the first air raid against enemy positions near Homs, emerges the first strategy formulated by the President of the State Duma Defense Committee Vladimir Komoyedov taken from the TASS news agency.
"An air operation involves minimal risks in terms of losses in a context without defense systems. They could have some Stinger. Finally, if the air force is used and coordinated correctly, it can be an effective means of destruction, especially on desert lands. The Russian army will be present with a ground force to protect aeronautical bases and infrastructure ".
Admiral Komoyedov has therefore already outlined, albeit briefly, what will happen in the coming hours in Syria. Massive use of "Crows" to support Syrian land forces.
Komoyedov confirmed what the Israelis hypothesized a few days ago about the presence of Liaoning, Chinese aircraft carrier that would already be anchored at the port of Tartus. To the question "Wouldn't a naval battle group be necessary to protect and support the forces?", The admiral replied verbatim: "We have the Moscow, a Chinese aircraft carrier and some cruisers: quite sufficient forces to support all our operations ".
In recent days, the presence of the only Chinese aircraft carrier in service in Syria, had been defined as a hoax. The news was reported by the Israeli intelligence site DEBKA, but was completely underestimated. Now the confirmation of the Russians: "we have a Chinese aircraft carrier".
The forces in the field
RUSSIA: the Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean coast of Syria is protected by five warships with the class missile cruiser at its head Glory, Moscow. Bassel al-Assad International, airport at 20 km south of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast of Syria connected to the main port of the country, has a force capable of hitting targets on the ground. The Russians have twelve Su-24 low-level tactical bombers Fencer, twelve ground attack aircraft and close-up support of Su-25 Frogfoot, four Su-30SM fighters and fifteen heavy attack helicopters. Kamov Ka-52 'Alligators' have also landed in Syria. The airport is defended by a land force composed of nine third-generation tanks T-90, 35 BTR-82A and 500 soldiers. Both bases are protected by different ground-to-air systems.
Il Bassel al-Assad International it is also used by the Kremlin for all reconnaissance and attack missions of drones deployed in Syrian territory. The Russians fortified the Al-Sanobar military base, seven kilometers north of Latakia and the Istamo storage complex, three kilometers west. Overall, Moscow has in Syria between the 1000 and the 1500 soldiers. Probably, at least on the Syrian coasts there is at least one attack submarine. The last time Putin asked for permission to use armed forces outside national borders dates back to the early months of the 2014 during the Ukraine crisis.
CHINA: Liaoning aircraft carrier and missile cruiser deployed near the Syrian coast. The Chinese have not yet reached an offensive capacity. The carrier docked at the port of Tartus is still without its air component, but has been made available to the Russians. Chinese warplanes will arrive in Syria by mid-November, flying through Iran or transported by Russian cargo. The Chinese would be setting up a squadron of J-15, fourth-generation multi-role fighters, Z-18F antisom helicopters and Z-18J early warning. Beijing will eventually deploy a thousand soldiers.
IRAN: a thousand soldiers belonging to the Revolutionary Guard Corps to assist Hezbollah in Zabadani The "military coordination cell" was created in Baghdad by Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria a few days ago.
The joint coordination command appears as a counterpart to the "War Room" set up by the USA in Jordan, north of Amman, to coordinate the operations of the United States, Arabia, Qatar, Israel and Jordan in support of the Syrian rebels against the Assad government . Two rival cells, therefore, came into operation: one to protect US-led rebels and the other to support the Russian-led Assad regime.
Israel reserves the right to use its own forces - said Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon - to prevent the supply of weapons reaching terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah.
The forces of the Russian-led alliance - conclude the intelligence agency DEBKA - are assuming proportions not even imagined by Israel and the United States.
(photo: Sputnik)
