[Netz]

Your analysis is quite compelling. The CCCP has had a base at Latakia for decades, correct?

[Navy Patriot]

The airbase at Latakia has quite large and well built runways fully capable of servicing all modern jet aircraft, and much of that was constructed during the Soviet Russian support of Syria, and Russian support only broken when they could not support anyone during the fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent Russian civil disturbance and political transition to the Russian Federation.

Thereafter, Russia resumed support of Syria and the Latakia airbase was part of that support. The original size and construction of that airbase speaks to an intent of having a major high capacity Russian airbase in Syria.

If ordinary news reports are true, the airbase was only lightly used and had minimal support facilities until recently, when Russia did a major upgrade of all facilities at the Latakia airbase.

Russia now refers to the base by the name Khmeimim Air Base, and it is a small Russian city, for the support and comfort of the Russians deployed there.

Interestingly, Russia has denied operations to make useable a smaller airfield near Qamishli Syria, while the US has denied occupying Rmeilan Air Base in the Syrian Kurdish region near Syria's Iraqi and Turkish borders. Both MAY be to fly support for the Kurds, but Joint US-Russian support for Kurds is my speculation based on what may have been joint support for Kurds in Iraq.