Illustrative image. (Aselsan)
Turkey recently deployed an advanced radar system at Damascus International Airport, with Hebrew media warning that the move could limit Israel’s freedom of action in Syrian airspace.
The deployment of the HTRS-100 air traffic control radar system, produced by the Turkish defense company ASELSAN, at the airport was described by Turkey’s Ambassador to Syria Nuh Yilmaz on January 20 as a “significant infrastructure upgrade for the main aviation hub of Syria’s capital.”
ASELSAN says on its website that the radar, which has a range of 150-200 kilometers, “ensures the precise detection and tracking of all airborne targets in the vicinity of airports.”
Click to see full-size image. (Turkish Embassy in Syria)
Click to see full-size image. (Turkish Embassy in Syria)
Since the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad, Israel has operated freely in Syria and has also used the country’s airspace to reach targets in other countries, such as Iran.
Israel’s public broadcasters, Kan, warned on January 21 that the radar could limit Israel’s freedom of action in Syrian airspace.
The Turkish plan to provide Syria with radars was first revealed by the Jerusalem Post last month, citing two Western intelligence sources.
One of the sources told the Post that Turkey is planning to transfer the radar systems to the Syrian military. The sources noted, however, that Turkish personnel would remain responsible for operating the systems, giving Ankara access to and control over the intelligence gathered.
Syria refuted Israel’s warnings, with the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport stating that the newly-installed system at Damascus International Airport is a civilian radar dedicated exclusively to air navigation and civil air traffic management.
In a statement, the authority clarified that the radar is part of the modernization of civil aviation infrastructure and the improvement of safety levels and airspace management efficiency, noting that It has no military or non-civilian uses whatsoever.
Click to see full-size image. (Turkish Embassy in Syria)
Click to see full-size image. (Turkish Embassy in Syria)
While the HTRS-100 is indeed a civilian radar, such systems have the ability to detect military aircraft, especially larger special purpose ones like tankers or airborne early warning and control planes.
Israeli military special purpose aircraft were very active over Syria throughout the 12-day war with Iran last June. This explains why Israel is worried about the newly-installed radar at Damascus International Airport.
In case of a new war with Iran, for example, Turkey could use the radar to monitor the flights of such aircraft in Syrian airspace, and pass the data to the Islamic Republic, giving it a valuable early warning.
Due to this risk, the radar could get hit as a part of the opening strikes of any future attack by Israel and the United States against Iran. Both are currently preparing to carry out such an attack.
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more likely it would give an early warning for israel, otherwise zionists would just blow it up.
so russia doesn’t have radars on its two syrian bases..?