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Syria is still in possession of Soviet-made BM-27 Uragan heavy multiple rocket launchers, according to a photo that surfaced online on August 16.
Some activists said that the photo was taken close to Syria’s border with Lebanon in western Syria. However, others alleged that the photo was taken close to the front with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the east of the country.
The photo shows a single Uragan, but activists who were first to share it said that multiple launchers were passing by in the area at the time.
The Uragan 220 mm launcher can fire high explosive fragmentation, cluster or mine laying rockets. The effective firing range of the system is 35 kilometers. The rockets can reach a maximum firing range of around 90 kilometers, although they lose all accuracy.
More than 30 such launchers were reportedly in service with the former Syrian military. Many were, however, either destroyed during the battle that brought down the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad last December, or in later Israeli strikes that destroyed much of the country’s offensive capabilities.
Apparently, somehow, at least few of these heavy launchers have survived. Still, it is highly doubtful that the new military will be able to operate them in a meaningful manner, due to the lack of experience. It will also be extremely difficult for the military to source ammunition for the system.
Syria’s Islamist-led Interim Government is struggling to build a new military on all levels. Its forces are not discipline and ill organized. There is also no real central command and command chain. The military is basically now a loose coalition of factions, with varying degrees of loyalty and a privileging radical ideology.
These issues manifested during the massacres against the Alawites on the Syrian coast in March and the battle against the Druze in the south of the country last month. Major violations were committed there, with close to 2,000 Alawite and Druze civilians getting executed by government troops and affiliated factions.
The government has repeatedly made promises to reform. However, the situation is only getting worse on all levels. Despite this catastrophic situation, suggestions to bring back selected officers from the former military were rejected time after time. On top of that, recruitment remains open only for Islamists.
Reactivating some capable weapons like the Uragan could in fact lead to further deterioration, as such weapons will likely be used to commit more violations and the factions that possess these capabilities will likely feel more emboldened to reject orders.
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