Hmeymim Air Base /
Martyr Basil al-Assad International Airport
Israeli forces launched airstrikes at dawn on 03 October 2024, targeting an Iranian weapons depot located at the Russian Hmeimim military base and Latakia International Airport. The attack, which marks the first time Latakia Airport has been bombed since Israel began its raids on Syria, ignited a fire and destroyed a warehouse containing arms and ammunition, just hours after an Iranian aircraft had landed.
According to sources cited by Syria TV, the Israeli raids targeted the Hmeimim base and other military sites along Syria’s coastal region, following the arrival of an Iranian Boeing-748 aircraft operated by Qashim Fars Air. The plane, which reportedly had its radar systems turned off, landed at Latakia Airport on Wednesday and departed about eight hours before the strikes. The company, under US sanctions since 2019 for its connections to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and involvement in arms smuggling, remains a key player in the illicit transfer of military equipment.
The Israeli assault, which began around 3:55 a.m. and lasted nearly 45 minutes, was executed by both air and naval forces, according to sources. Two missiles hit the targeted warehouse inside the airport, while Russian and regime air defense systems intercepted several other projectiles. In response to the strikes, Russian forces at Hmeimim dispatched two Su-27 fighter jets to patrol the Syrian coastline.
The Israeli strikes reportedly targeted a temporary storage facility used by the IRGC to house weapons shipments before they were transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other regions in Syria. Israeli forces have long been focused on dismantling Iranian supply lines within Syria, aiming to prevent the spread of weapons to Hezbollah and other militias allied with Tehran. Despite Russia’s advanced air defense systems stationed at Hmeimim, including the S-400 system, Israel continues to carry out airstrikes unimpeded.
On 30 September 2015, Russia launched airstrikes against ISIL militants in Syria. The Russian military is providing aerial support for ground operations conducted by the Syrian army. The combat unit of the Russian Aerospace Forces included over 50 aircraft and helicopters, including Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25 jets. In addition, space surveillance equipment and UAVs are used. For the first time in a long time, Russia deployed a military facility beyond the borders of the former Soviet states. This is the Hmeymim airbase, the centerpiece of the Russian aerial campaign in Syria.
The Russian airbase in Syria was boosted with hangars to shelter planes from drone attacks and a centralized fuel system, the Defense Ministry said 27 September 2019. The upgrade will also allow for additional aircraft at the strategic base. While it can already be called a “first class airfield,” capable of accepting all types of planes, including heavy transport aircraft and strategic bombers, work is being done to expand the base’s capabilities even further, Khmeimim’s deputy air regiment commander, Konstantin Dolgov, told Russian media. He said the reconstruction of the second landing strip is now in full swing, and the capacity of the airbase will be boosted upon its completion. There were currently 30 aircraft stationed at Khmeimim, with the fleet consisting of Su-35S, Su-34 and Su-24 planes and Mi-35 and Mi-8AMTSh helicopters.
New hangars for those planes have now been put into service, aimed at protecting the aircraft in case of drone attacks, which frequently target the Russian base, but have failed to cause any damage thanks to its air defenses. The hangars’ other purpose is sheltering the hardware from roasting in the hot Syrian sun and prolonging the lifespan of both planes and service equipment. The shade has also improved working conditions for the mechanics, the official noted. Another major bonus is the new centralized fuel supply system, which has allowed a sharp decrease in the time needed to prepare the planes for recycle sorties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted an agreement with Damascus on the deployment of a Russian air force group in Syria for ratification by the lower house of parliament, an entry in the official database of the State Duma confirmed 09 August 2016. On July 29, the Russian cabinet approved the accord on the deployment of the Russian air force group in Syria, and submitted to Putin for its further referral to the lower house of parliament for approval, according to a legislative act published on the official portal for legal information. It is noted in the text that the Hmeymim air facility in Syria, its infrastructure and territory are granted to Russia free of charge. The agreement was signed in Damascus on August 26, 2015.
The name of the air base has been transliterated also in other ways, namely Hemeimeem, Hmeymin, based on the local Arabic name. On 21 January 1994, driving at a too-high speed to the Damascus airport for a skiing trip abroad, Basil al-Assad crashed the Mercedes he was driving, killing himself and his passengers. The accident had great consequence because Basil, then 31, was being groomed to succeed his father, Hafez al-Assad, as dictator of Syria. All indications pointed to the equestrian, martial, and charismatic Basil making for a formidable ruler. After the car crash his younger brother Bashar was brought back from his ophthalmologic studies in London and enrolled in a rapid course to prepare as Syria's next strongman. He perfunctorily ascended the military ranks, and on his father's demise in June 2000 he succeeded to the presidential throne. The airport was named for his older brother.
The combat unit of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which is involved in launching airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIL) terrorist group, is stationed at the Hmeymim airbase, outside Latakia. The Hmeymin airbase is fully provided with material and technical supplies from Russia, according to the Defense Ministry. Within a short time, the Russian military built dozens of field facilities on the site, including refueling stations and stocks of supplies.
Russia planneds to expand its Hmeymim Air Base in Syria to ensure that its operations run smoothly and to enhance its security by adding extra aprons, building barracks and a hospital, as well as assigning extra space for large transport aircraft, etc., an unnamed source in the Russian Defense Ministry told Izvestiya 11 August 2016. The plan first surfaced in late 2015, but its implementation was postponed until the "status of the object was determined," the source added, providing specific details on Hmeymim's future.
In June 2016 Russia rented this Syria airbase to land long-range Tu-142. It apparently went to Syria not to fight the Islamists, but was occupied by its direct business - search for potential enemy submarines in the eastern Mediterranean. Hmeymim is a great jump airfield that allows significantly increasing the range and duration of the search.
Russia wanted to expand the aircraft apron or the area where planes are parked, loaded and unloaded or refueled, because the ramp at Hmeymim was too crowded on busy days. Extra artificial hills will also be added to secure the warplanes in case of shelling. The source further said that it was possible that aviation squadrons will be stationed in different areas of the air base to enhance security because "at the moment there is a single 'parking lot' there."
New radio equipment, including air traffic control systems will be deployed to the base. In addition, Russian experts will arrange sites for the Pantsir surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon systems that are tasked with providing air cover for the base. According to the plan, a special area will be assigned for loading, unloading and servicing of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan transport jets so that they don't get in the way of other aircraft stationed at Hmeymim. Russia also plans to build barracks, a dining hall and a hospital at the base.
First Deputy Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee in Russia's Federation Council Franz Klintsevich told the newspaper that Russia plans to turn Hmeymim into a fully operational base. Senator Viktor Ozerov said that "we will be able to develop the military base, outfit it with advanced navigation equipment, improve the airstrip, the living conditions and activities of Russia's Armed Forces."
In an interview with Sputnik 11 August 2016, former chief editor of the Iranian news agency MehrNews Hassan Hanizadeh commented on the issue. According to the expert, Russia's initiative to create a full-fledged military base in the Syrian airport of Hmeymim is primarily viewed as an important step towards ensuring security and stabilization in the region. "Middle Eastern countries (Syria itself, as well as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon) only welcome this Russian initiative, because Russia has never pursued the goal of military aggression and colonization of this region; the goal of the Russian military presence is to contribute to the stabilization and ensure security in Syria and the Middle East," the expert said.
The expert also argued that the military bases created by the United States in various parts of the world, by contrast, only bring destruction and undermine safety in many regions. "Russia, in contrast to the Americans, seeks to assist countries in ensuring security no matter where it places its military bases, and not fueling a war. Given the fact that in the Syrian port of Tartus there is a logistics base of the Russian Navy, the establishment of a permanent Russian military base at the airfield of Hmeymim wouldn't pose any threat to the Syrian people," Hanizadeh said.
Although Russia used the Hmeymim airbase to fight radical groups that are trying to overthrow the Syrian government, this is not the real reason why Moscow needs a military base in the Middle East in the long term. Defense analyst Sergei Ishchenko wrote for Svobodnaya Pressa in august 2016 that the base would be "an unsinkable aircraft carrier" [the phrase previously used with reference to US air forces in the UK]. Tackling international terrorism is a short term goal, the former Navy captain maintained. "Moscow's true and main goal is different. We need dozens of Russian attack planes and helicopters [in the Middle East] to provide air cover for our naval group in the Mediterranean," he suggested. "We did not have these capabilities for more than five decades, but we desperately needed them."
The Soviet Union maintained its 5th Mediterranean Squadron that was established to counter the US Navy's 6th Fleet from 1967 until 1992. Ishchenko described the flotilla that consisted of up to 50 warships and auxiliary vessels as a "force to be reckoned with." The analyst added that the lack of air cover was the squadron's only disadvantage. "Fighter cover during the Soviet times was absent. We did not have aircraft carriers until the 1990s. The Kiev-class aircraft-carrying heavy cruisers were outfitted with several Yakovlev Yak-38 strike fighters, but these planes were not really suited for air combat," he explained.
The Soviet Union reached an agreement to station warplanes in Egypt in 1967, but the arrangement lasted until 1972. In the last two decades Russia's only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov was deployed to the Mediterranean four times: in 1995-1996, 2007-2008, 2011-2012 and 2014. These missions lasted for a maximum of four months.
This situation changed when Russia and Syria reached an agreement that allowed Moscow to use the Hmeymim air base for an indefinite period of time free of charge. "Russia has deployed up to four Sukhoi Su-30SM supermaneuverable fighter aircraft to Hmeymim. They have been tasked with providing air cover for bombers and strike planes taking part in the counterterrorism operation in Syria," Ishchenko noted. Russia, he added, apparently decided not to send more Su-30SMs to the region because there are no aerial adversaries that it needs to fight. If needed, additional deployment could be completed in approximately 24 hours.
Ishchenko maintained that there are grounds to assume that Russia is already using the Hmeymim base to protect its ships in the Mediterranean. "For instance, the Tupolev Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft landed at Hmeymim in June. Clearly it did not land in Syria to fight against Islamists, but was busy performing its main task, searching for submarines of a potential adversary in the eastern Mediterranean," the analyst explained.
The Hmeymim air base was provided with purely point defense (all infrastructure facilities of the base are protected) by 2016. In addition, its SAM-based air defense resulted from pooling the efforts with the air defense elements of other armed services, particularly the Russian Navy, and the air defense elements of the Syrian Arab Republic. To a certain extent, there is the implementation of the territorial SAM-based air defense principle at Hmeymim AB. Beefing up the Russian SAM element in Syria with a cutting-edge S-400 Triumph (SA-21 Growler) long-range SAM system has considerably improved the AD coverage of the key facility, Hmeymim AB, and allowed reaching targets flying at higher altitudes and speeds. In addition, the AD element’s survivability and immunity has grown sharply in terms of possible fires- and electronic countermeasures-heavy environment. Hmeymim AB’s layered SAM-based air defense was based on composite Air Defense Force, Army Air Defense and naval AD groupings was established and enabled to handle non-strategic missile defense missions. The latter capability is provided by the S-400 Triumph. At least four layers were apparent in the SAM-based air defenses of Hmeymim AB.
- first layer is provided by the S-400 and S-200VE long-range systems.
- The second one is handled by the S-300FM Fort-M and Buk-M2E medium-range systems.
- The third layer is furnished by the Osa-AKM and S-125 Pechora-2M SHORAD systems.
- Finally, the Pantsir-S1 close-in systems should be considered to be a means of covering the air base and S-400.
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| Basel Al Assad Intl |
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Overview of the Basel Al Assad Air Field, 27 October 1986 |
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Close up of the Basel Al Assad Air Field, 27 October 1986 | |
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