And if I recall, Syria has some fairly robust air defenses, so announcing yourself in advance has some drawbacks.
Yeah, I was wondering about their capabilities...they are supplied by the Ruskies. Their air defenses are capable from what I gather as they were upgraded after Israel embarrassed them severely.
What are their defense capabilities like against ships and the like??
Did not help stop the rubbleification of their nuclear facility a couple odd years ago.
Didn't Saddam have the same air defenses? Perhaps the Syrian defenses were upgraded with newer Russian designs.
This is going to put Putin on the spot. The exercise will be an endorsement for:
1. Russian air defenses, or
2. U.S. aviation technology.
3. Perhaps Chinese Silkworm anti ship weaponry.
The Serbs shot down about 3 of our planes in ‘99. The Syrians can take down dozens if we are stupid enough to put them in range of their air defenses.