Tom Cooper lifts the veil, at least partially, of secrecy and mystery surrounding the Syrian Arab Air Force and its declining capability.
FORCE REPORT
Syrian Arab Air Force
RESEARCHING AND analysing the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) has never been easy.
In the past, the ‘Silent Service’, as the SyAAF is known within its own ranks, went about its work behind a thick veil of secrecy, and reliable information was extremely difficult to obtain. Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, however, the situation is diametrically opposite – nowadays information and photographs are available in abundance via firsthand sources (much information for this article was provided on condition of anonymity) and social media, and the SyAAF’s operations can be followed in near-real time.
The SyAAF’s activity over the last six years has often been highly unorthodox and thus difficult to explain within the confines of a magazine article. Accusations of corruption, nepotism, sectarianism and blatant criminalisation have blighted the SyAAF since the late 1970s and their debilitating effects were clearly exposed during the Lebanon War of 1982.
Origins
The SyAAF was established in 1946 with help from France – which train…
