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Fate Hmeymim air base and naval base in Tartus

The war in Syria is over ...

A little more than two weeks have passed since then, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated, that the war in Syria is over, despite, that hotbeds of tension remain on the territory of the country. Especially in places, controlled by coalition forces.

Fate Hmeymim air base and naval base in Tartus

We quote the words of Sergei Lavrov from his interview with the newspaper Trud:
“The country is gradually returning to normal, a peaceful life. Separate hotbeds of tension remain only in the territories, not controlled by the government of SAR, as, eg, Idlib and the eastern bank of the Euphrates river”.

clear, that now there will be no active hostilities with the participation of Russian military personnel. It is understood, that the presence of Russian specialists of certain specialties there will continue. This is not discussed. In some matters, especially given the balance of power, what is there in Syria today, we just need it, and the Syrians.

We are much more interested in another piece of the interview of the Russian minister. Just a couple of sentences, who for most of the townsfolk said nothing, but for more knowledgeable people, they became that beacon to the future, that direction, where will Syria move in the coming years or decades.

“In general, Russia is in favor of the restoration of a sovereign, territorially integral Syria, overcoming the consequences of rampant terrorism as soon as possible, return of all Syrians to their homeland, and the country itself - in “Arab family”, which will be the key to ensuring security and stability in the Middle East”.

We will not discuss foreign policy problems today. For the appearance of a headache for diplomats and politicians of some countries, I think, just the last quote. But the fact, How Russia will contribute to the solution of the issues stated by the Foreign Minister directly concerns, including, Russian troops.

Naval base in Tartus

In order not to intrigue readers, I'll start with the main. The Russian Federation has a full-fledged military aviation base in the region on a permanent basis. Besides, Russian Navy kept, rather, recreated on the basis of a small pre-existing base, practically not used for its intended purpose, a full-fledged modern naval base in Tartus.

It is very difficult to say, which base is more important. Without the Khmeimim base, there would be no new naval base in Tartus. But at the same time, without Tartus there would be no Khmeimim. There would be no victories for the Syrian army. although there is no, wins in the end would be, but the price of these victories would be much higher. And it would be much more difficult for Russian servicemen to work in Syria.

Remember, when the armed conflict began in Syria in 2011 year, Russia did not interfere in the internal affairs of this country. Even the emergence of ISIS (banned in the Russian Federation) did not push Moscow to take action. It lasted until August 2015 of the year, when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asked Russia to help in the fight against international terrorism. And the first blow of the Russian Aerospace Forces struck at terrorists 30 September 2015 of the year.

Why Khmeimim and Tartus are closely related? Again you need to go back to 2015. Xmejmim, which was provided to our VKS as a military base, was almost an open field with one stripe, old airport and unadapted military equipment. There was practically nothing for the placement and operation of the Russian aerospace forces. And the republic needed a civil airfield.

The Russian soldier knows how to quickly equip himself a comfortable life in war. Probably, it is genetically inherent in our military personnel. However, the command of the Aerospace Forces and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation already then began to prepare the base for the future.. And this is where the naval base was needed. Capital construction required a huge amount of building materials from Russia. And it was optimal to bring them by sea.

Fate Hmeymim air base and naval base in Tartus

Russian army was modernized tanks T-90M

by the way, modern weapons, which so scared the forces, wanting to overthrow the Syrian president, was delivered mainly by sea. Through the base in Tartus. Although during the operation, according to media reports, you might get the impression, that the supply went mainly by aviation through Khmeimim.

Naval base in Tartus today and then, what happened before the start of the VKS operation, different like heaven and earth. Instead of a floating dock, barracks and several warehouses in the far corner of the port area today the base is a closed water area with the latest berths.

Moreover, this is no longer a base for one or two ships., today a squadron can enter the water area! Berths are equipped with ship life support systems, unloading sites, repair complex for maintenance and small repair of ships.

Here it is just necessary to mention the rest of the crews of ships and submarines.. Tartus has a complete infrastructure for organizing such a holiday. Now the soldiers, sailors and officers live in comfortable conditions and have all the possibilities, which they had in their "native" garrisons. From laundry services to movies and cafes.

It is very important that, that the base in Tartus is focused not only on Syria, but also on the control of the Mediterranean. Ships and submarines, who are in the area of ​​the base today, capable of striking targets, located even in the region of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. In fact, Russia took control of the entire eastern Mediterranean.

But that's not all. The base itself is perfectly protected from attack from all sides. Air defense in Tartus has the ability to destroy targets as at a great distance, and in the immediate vicinity of the base itself. Russian air defense systems detect targets at ranges up to 400 kilometers. And electronic warfare systems, located in Tartus, perfectly cover the approaches to the base.

Equally seriously, the naval base is protected from the sea. Rocket systems "Bastion", cruise missiles on ships and submarines, coast guard boats and anti-sabotage boats, subunits of naval special forces - all this ensures reliable protection of Tartus and the destruction of the enemy as on long-range, and on the near approaches to the base.

Hmeymim base

Khmeimim airbase today is not just a home base for Russian Aerospace Forces. In fact, this is a small Russian city, far from home. Yes, not a tent camp, but quite modern, moderately comfortable town. true, civil, arriving at the base on a business trip, a little uncomfortable, that the architecture of the base is monotonous enough.

Residential construction based on the well-known KIMBs. Ready-made residential "bricks" for any construction. The famous "engineering modular block construction", but simply a 6-meter "sea container" (6,5 m of 2,5 m), equipped with air conditioning, soundproofing, sleeping places and various cabinets-bedside tables.

clear, that young people need other common areas: table, club, sports grounds ... the airbase has it all! There is even a bathhouse! Not to mention our own bakery and laundry. And there is also, two temples built by the hands of soldiers and officers. In general, we can say, that today the airbase is fully built, and now the task of the military is to improve the conditions of life and service.

This is what the deputy commander of the aviation regiment said., based on the base of Khmeimim, 26 September:
“Reconstruction of the airfield continues, the infrastructure of the entire airbase is developing, including living and cultural and leisure conditions”.

The creation of an airbase today can already be called the heroism of soldiers and officers of the Russian Armed Forces.. The base was deployed in combat conditions, in the harshest climatic conditions, when in summer the temperature jumped to 50 degrees. At the same time, the main work of the base to provide the Aerospace Forces and other units and divisions of the army with everything necessary for the conduct of hostilities continued without interruption..

base, as it should be, perfectly protected. Today we can talk about, that Khmeimim is "covered" with a dome with a diameter of 400 kilometers, which guarantees the destruction of the enemy "Triumph" S-400. On the near approaches, the protection of the sky is conducted by "Tor M2" and "Pantsir M". Add electronic warfare installations to these complexes.

According to the order, any object, crossing a 60-kilometer zone and not responding, subject to immediate destruction. It is thanks to that, that the right to eliminate the target was received directly by the commanders of the air defense system, none of the UAV attacks reached their goals. Totally agree 2019 year air defense Khmeimim destroyed and planted more than a hundred shock and reconnaissance drones. General Konashenkov on the situation today:

Fate Hmeymim air base and naval base in Tartus

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“Our air defense systems have proven in practice, what can they [Not only] detect such targets, like rockets and drones, but also effectively destroy them. Besides, they are capable of destroying cruise missiles, and the S-400 - and ballistic targets”.

Any air base is, first of all, an airfield. To find out about the state of the airfield, let's turn again to the interview with the deputy commander of the air regiment:
"First class airfield, which is capable of receiving all types of aircraft, from helicopters to heavy military transport aircraft and missile carriers ... Now the second runway is being reconstructed, which will increase its capabilities. New facilities built, in which aircraft are installed. These structures protect against possible attacks by combat drones, as well as from rain and direct sunlight ".

Of course, someone asks, but what about Putin's statement on the withdrawal of the Russian Aerospace Forces, made in december 2017 of the year. The main forces were indeed withdrawn in December. But the necessary to protect the base and conduct one-time operations remained. Today at the base in Khmeimim there are about 30 aircraft of various types. These are SU-35S aircraft., Su-34, Su-24, helicopters Mi-35 and Mi-8AMTSh.

And last. Russian airbase did not affect the operation of the civil airport. Basil Al-Assad International Airport, better known as Latakia airport, is actively used today by the Syrian side. Sharing it does not interfere with civil aircraft in any way.

We will stay for a long time

I specifically spoke in sufficient detail about, what our bases in Syria look like today. First of all for that, to make it clear, that we came for a long time. We got a great opportunity not only to control the region, but also actively monitor the most problematic areas of the Mediterranean.

Both Russian military bases are not autonomous. This is a single system, which, in case of danger, will provide a quick reaction to any enemy attack. And the improvement of these bases continues constantly. This means, that the Russian army will no longer passively look at, what some presumptuous politicians of other countries in the region are doing. It means, that we are actively involved in international politics.

And to the soldiers and sailors, officers, generals and admirals, which provided in a fairly short time the construction and equipment of two military bases, all that remains is to say thank you for the service.

Alexander Staver

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