The Syrian military’s Pantsir-S system
Joint Russian-Syrian air force and air defense force drills will begin in Syria on July 5, Rare Admiral Oleg Gurinov, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, announced on July 4.
“Joint Russian-Syrian drills will begin on June 5 and will last for six days. It is planned to drill joint actions by aviation, air defense forces and electronic warfare to repel air attacks,” the commander said.
The drills come amid high tensions by the United States-led coalition over alleged violations of the flight safety protocols over Syria.
Gurinov said that coalition drones violated the protocoles nine times the previous day by conducting uncoordinated sorties over the country’s northern region.
“The increase in the number of non-deconflicted flights adds to the escalation of tension and in no way promotes mutual constructive cooperation. We repeat that the Russian side bears no responsibility for the safety of uncoordinated flights of unmanned aerial vehicles,” he stressed.
According to the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, the coalition violated flight safety protocols over Syria 315 times in June.
The U.S.-led coalition maintains some 900 troops between Syria’s northeastern region and the southeastern area of al-Tanf under the pretext of fighting ISIS. Coalition drones also operate in areas occupied by the Turkish military in the northern region as well as the northwestern region of Greater Idlib, which is controlled by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and other terrorist groups.
In the past, U.S. drones were also spotted over the government-held central region, where ISIS cells have been waging an insurgency for a few years now.
Gurinov’s remarks indicate that the joint Russian-Syrian drills are meant as a warning to the U.S. Russia keeps dozens of warplanes in Syria, where it also built a multi-tier air defense network that is connected with the country’s own network. Both Russian and Syrian air defenses targeted coalition drones in the past.
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