Russia is preparing a second air base in Syria

December 1, 2015

Katamaran sdelanounas.ru

Translated for Fort Russ by Soviet Bear

Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai reported on the preparation by Russia to deploy a second military base in Syria. The Russian Aerospace Force group, as well as provision units will be deployed at the air base of Shairat 35 kilometers South-East from Homs. The number of the Russian aircraft group in Syria may rise to one hundred pieces.

“The Shairat base has 45 reinforced aircraft hangars to protect the planes from hits during shellings", — reports the special correspondent of the newspaper Elijah J. Magnier with reference to a source in the joint Russian-Syrian-Iraqi-Iranian headquarters in Damascus. As the author points out, the airfield has the three-kilometer primary runway, allowing to accept aircrafts of any type, as well as reserve runway the preparation of which ends today. According to sources utilization of the Shairat base will increase the number of Russian air group in Syria more than 100 aircraft.

[Read said article here: fortruss.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/100-russian-jet-fighters-new-brigade.html]

In addition, Russian troops will be deployed to cover and secure the base. As a source in Russian power structures told the correspondent of "Lenta.Ru” Shairat is needed for carrying out operations in the South and East of Syria. "For the offensive in the Palmyra area and further East, in Deir-ez-Zor, the  Khmeimim base in Latakia is already quite far away, especially for operations of attack aircraft and helicopters, for which, in addition to range, a significant role is played by the speed of destruction of targets on the battlefield and in the rear," said the source. According to him, earlier, the Russian HQs have already used Shairat airport as a transit hub.

November 17, 2015 in a video presentation by Ministry of Defense a map was shown on which there were marked positions of the 5th howitzer artillery battery of 120-th guard’s artillery brigade of the Russian army deployed in the region from November 6.

Also exactly the same point in time (14:00, November 6) at the Shairat air base four Mi-24 attack helicopters and one transport Mi-8 helicopter were shown on the map , they are not identified. Sources close to power structures of Israel told "Lenta.ru", work on preparation of the Shairat airfield. Partial confirmation of this information can be data from the website Flightradar 24, according to which the activity of the Russian military-transport aircraft, including transport aircraft An-124 was observed near the air base.