WAR AGAINST DRONES: Russian Military Deploys Advanced Air Defense Units at Syria’s Humeimim Base
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The Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency also mirrored this claim, and reported that Russia has stationed several units of Pantsir S1 missile system that falls in the category of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems at Humeimim airbase. The purpose according to the Arabic-language outlet is to to repel drone and helishot attacks by terrorists.
Reasons for this were given to the public by former Commander of Russian Air Defense Units General Alexander Gorokov, who said today that;
Detecting terrorists’ drones by radars is a hard mission as they are mainly in small size.
Corroborating the need for increased anti-drone weaponry, a large number of enemy drones have been recently downed over the Humeimim airbase that is home to the Russian air force in Syria.
Even recently, as recently as this past week, the Russian military claimed that it had indeed repelled two drone attacks “at a safe distance from the base.” More over on Saturday a drone, carrying what were later determined to be explosives, was downed on its approach to Humeimim, and its flight path had it originating from the militant-held de-escalation zone in Idlib.
Needing to address the problem of drone attacks, FRN readers will recall that the most large-scale assault on Humeimim took place just in January this year with at least 10 drones attacking the area in that month alone. Three others, additionally, targeted the Russian maritime logistics point in the city of Tartus. Many of those devices were downed by the Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft weapon system.
For these reasons, the Russian military has identified the Pantsir-S1 as an ideal weapon already in use, to counter drone attacks.
Drones have become an increasing part of military tactics, raising concerns given their relative stealth, and that no human capital is put at risk on the part of the attacker. Drones are operated by remote control, and while they do not place the drone operator at risk, drone operators in the US army have, today, among the highest suicide rates in the American force.