Syrian weapons. Syrian Armed Forces: Fact and Fable. Foreign Shia factions

Syria is not directly involved in the flaring Israeli-Lebanese conflict. But its armed forces must be taken into account in any calculations of the possible development of the situation in the region. A traditional enemy of Israel, Syria has a large military force and significant stockpiles of weapons and military equipment. If the conflict escalates, the intervention of the Syrian armed forces becomes quite possible.

The Syrian army is one of the most powerful in the Arab Middle East. The Syrian Armed Forces have a traditional three-service structure - Ground Forces, Navy and Air Force. Supreme connection ground forces existing in peacetime is the army corps. In total, the peacetime ground forces have 215,000 people (about 300,000 more are in reserve), which are equipped with three army corps, twelve divisions, twelve separate brigades, ten special forces regiments, one separate tank regiment and a coastal defense missile brigade, which is under operational control Navy.

Of the twelve Syrian divisions, seven are armored, three are mechanized, one division special purpose and one for the Republican Guard. The division of the republican guard is the most powerful and trained unit of the ground forces. It consists of two tank and one mechanized brigades, is armed with modernized T-72 tanks (350 units), combat vehicles infantry BMP-2 and BMP-3, 30 152 mm self-propelled units 2S3 "Acacia", 20 122-mm self-propelled guns 2S1 "Gvozdika", 30 rocket systems salvo fire BM-21 "Grad", 50 anti-aircraft self-propelled guns "Shilka" and other military and auxiliary equipment.

Conventional Syrian armored divisions (BRTD) also consist of two tank and one mechanized brigades, but have fewer tanks (up to three hundred T-62 and T-72) and their motorized rifles move on BMP-1/2 and armored personnel carriers. In addition, most of the artillery in conventional BRTDs is towed. Mechanized divisions consist of two mechanized and one armored brigade each. They are armed with two hundred T-55 and T-62 tanks, the infantry of the mechanized brigades moves on an armored personnel carrier, tank brigades mainly on the BMP-1. The artillery regiments of these divisions are equipped with towed 122mm D-30 howitzers and 130mm M-46 guns.

Of the 12 separate brigades of the Syrian Armed Forces, four are infantry, one border, three missile, two artillery and two anti-tank. Infantry brigades are designed to cover the front in secondary sectors, artillery and anti-tank brigades are designed to support the combat operations of tank and mechanized divisions, missile brigades armed with operational-tactical ballistic missiles are designed to strike the enemy using weapons of mass destruction.

In total, the Syrian ground forces are armed with 4700-4800 tanks, including 1500-1700 T-72s of various modifications, 1000 T-62s, 2000-2250 T-54s and T-55s, of which approximately 1000 are in storage. Due to the fact that the last tanks were delivered to Syria during the existence of the USSR, the tank fleet of the ground forces cannot be considered modern. But, according to information from a number of sources, Syria is making active efforts to modernize its tank fleet.

So, about 200 T-55s were upgraded to the T-55MV variant, having received enhanced armor, dynamic frontal and partially lateral projection protection, and the 9K116 Bastion guided weapon system. Some of the T-72 tanks have also undergone modernization with increased frontal armor and the installation of dynamic protection. According to some reports, the tanks of the Republican Guard Division also have the 9K118 "Reflex" guided weapon system.

The main vehicle of the Syrian infantry is the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle (up to 2450 units). Also in service are up to 100 BMP-2s, several dozens of BMP-3s (the exact number and their presence in the Syrian Armed Forces have not been fully clarified), about 1000 armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicles BRDM-2 (including self-propelled ATGM launchers) and more 1500 armored personnel carriers, including 1000 armored personnel carriers 50/60/70 and 500 armored personnel carriers-152.

Over 500 installations provide fire support to tank and motorized rifle units self-propelled artillery- 50 self-propelled guns 2S3 "Acacia" with a caliber of 152 mm, 400 122-mm self-propelled guns 2S1 "Gvozdika" and more than 50 122-mm self-propelled guns SP122 of Syrian production, which is a D-30 howitzer, mounted in an open installation on the chassis of the T-34/85 tank with the turret removed.

In addition to self-propelled guns, Syria is armed with approximately 1,500 towed artillery pieces, including 10 180 mm long-range S-23 guns, 70 152 mm D-20 howitzers and ML-20 howitzer guns, 700-800 long-range 130 mm guns M-46, 500 D-30 122mm howitzers and 150 M-30 122mm howitzers. In addition, another 500 122mm guns are in storage.

Also, Syria has about a hundred 160mm mortars, a small number (up to 10) of 240mm mortars and about four hundred 120mm mortars. The number of 82 mm battalion mortars is unknown, but apparently quite large.

In addition to guns and mortars fire support ground forces carry out up to 300 multiple launch rocket systems BM-21 "Grad" and up to 200 Chinese 107-mm MLRS "Type 63".

Despite the smaller number of self-propelled guns than Israel and, accordingly, the greater vulnerability and lower mobility of artillery units, Syrian artillery cannot be called weak. With proper command and control, the artillery units of the Syrian army are able to provide effective support to their tank and mechanized units.

Syria's lag in numbers newest tanks can be partly offset by the presence of a large number of anti-tank missile systems- more than four thousand, including 1000 of the latest Kornet anti-tank systems, which ensure the defeat of most modern main battle tanks "head-on".

Neighborhood with Israel, which has numerous well-trained air forces, has always forced the Syrian leadership to pay close attention to air defense. Syria has a large number of air defense systems from long to short range and a solid fleet anti-aircraft artillery.

The most long-range Syrian air defense systems are the S-200. Two air defense brigades equipped with S-200M (Vega-M) air defense systems have 48 launchers. The firing range of S-200M missiles exceeds 250 kilometers. Unlike early versions S-200, "Vega-M" is capable of intercepting low-flying targets.

The bulk of Syria's air defense systems are medium-range air defense systems. 11 brigades have obsolete air defense systems S-75 "Volga" and S-125 "Pechora" (from 480 to 600 launchers according to various sources). Another 11 brigades have 200 launchers for Kvadrat mobile anti-aircraft missile systems, most of which were upgraded in the late 1980s. Modernization provided the air defense system with the ability to intercept targets in severe jamming conditions.

To cover the areas of deployment of air defense systems long range Syrian air defense has 14 batteries (60 launchers) of Osa mobile air defense systems.

On the march and in combat, units of the ground forces must protect the Strela-1 air defense system (20 launchers on the chassis of the BRDM), Strela-10 (30 launchers on the chassis of the MTL-B transporter) and more than 4000 portable crews from air strikes from air strikes anti-aircraft missile systems "Strela-2", "Strela-2M" and "Igla". Syria also has a large number of anti-aircraft artillery systems to cover the ground forces.

The main mobile air defense system of the Syrian ground forces is the ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, armed with a 23-mm quad gun. In addition, the air defense units of the ground forces have 1,200 towed mounts, of which 600 are 23-mm ZU-23-2 mounts, and another 600 are 57-mm S-60 guns. In addition, Syria has 300 37mm M1939 guns in reserve.

In general, the Syrian air defense system, although it does not have latest systems, similar to the S-300 or Buk-M1, with proper control, it is quite capable of providing air cover for the country and its troops, forcing enemy aircraft to be distracted from attacks on ground targets and troops to combat air defense forces.

The Syrian Air Force has a solid, but mostly outdated fleet of combat aircraft. The most modern Air Force fighters are 48 MiG-29 aircraft, which were modernized with the help of Russian specialists in the late 90s and early 2000s. Some combat value is represented by 20-25 combat-ready MiG-25 fighter-interceptors and 50 MiG-23MLD fighters. Also in the active composition of the Air Force, there are over 150 MiG-21 fighters, but their combat value as fighters in the fight against the Israeli Air Force is close to zero.

A number of sources reported on the purchase by Syria of approximately 20 Su-27 fighters. If the crews managed to master the new machines, these aircraft, which are significantly superior in their combat capabilities to all other Syrian Air Force fighters, including the MiG-29, become the main threat to the Israeli Air Force.

A park strike aviation The Syrian Air Force has about forty Su-24 front-line bombers, the same number of MiG-23BN fighter-bombers and the same number of Su-22 (export version of the Su-17M4 fighter-bomber). Su-24s, capable of flying at supersonic speeds and ultra-low altitudes with terrain avoidance and strikes with a variety of guided weapons, are the most effective instrument of the Syrian Air Force, capable of operating even under enemy air dominance.

In addition to combat, the Syrian Air Force has approximately 250 training, transport and support aircraft. In general, despite the presence of a certain number of modern aircraft, they are significantly inferior to the Israeli Air Force both in terms of numbers and quality of the fleet. Also, the Israeli Air Force has a much more trained flight crew and a very solid air force combat support system, including early warning and control aircraft, while Syria is forced to make do with ground-based radars.

The army aviation of the Syrian Air Force has about a hundred combat helicopters, approximately equal in number to the French SA-342 Gazelle and the Soviet Mi-24. In addition, the army aviation has over a hundred Mi-17 transport helicopters.

The Syrian Navy does not have great potential. They have one patrol ship project 159AE, eight project 205M missile boats, eight project 140M patrol boats with machine guns and three minesweepers. In addition, the Navy has three medium landing craft Polish building. The Navy also includes three submarines project 633, but they are in a non-operational state.

In addition, coastal defense forces are subordinated to the command of the Navy, having 10-24 (according to different sources) launchers anti-ship missiles"Termite" with 36 130mm and 12 100mm coastal artillery guns. The naval aviation has 24 helicopters.

OTR-21 "Point". Photo courtesy waronline.org

In addition to the listed means of the three types of armed forces, Syria has a significant number of operational tactical missiles, which can be used in both conventional and chemical equipment. The most advanced missile systems in Syria are 18 9M79 Tochka launchers with a firing range of 120 kilometers, a circular probable deviation of up to 150 meters and a cluster warhead, which poses a serious threat to facilities such as air bases.

In addition to the Tochka launchers, Syria has 18 Soviet-made SCUD missile launchers and about 30 launchers for upgraded missiles of this type made in Korea. SCUD missiles can be launched to a range of approximately 500 kilometers, are not very accurate and pose a threat mainly to the civilian population.

In addition to these complexes, Syria has a certain number of Luna unguided tactical missiles, but these missiles, most likely, can no longer be used due to physical wear and tear.

In general, the Syrian armed forces are a solid adversary even for such a well-oiled combat vehicle as the IDF. In the event of a war, Syria is unlikely to be able to defeat an enemy with well-trained and equipped armed forces, but the conflict will certainly cost both sides heavy losses.

Performance characteristics of some samples of equipment and weapons of the ground forces and the Syrian Air Force

tank T-72M1

The maximum speed is 60 kilometers per hour.

Su-27SK fighter

armament - built-in: 1 30-mm cannon GSh-301. Suspended: up to 8 tons of air-to-air and air-to-ground guided and unguided weapons on 10 external hardpoints

Front-line bomber Su-24MK

Image copyright AFP Image caption A tank captured by Islamists from the Syrian army is one of many trophies taken from government forces during the war years

Russia entered the war in Syria after the conflict had been going on for more than four years. The main and most well-equipped force in it was and remains the Syrian army, which, due to the prevailing circumstances, has also become the main supplier of captured weapons for the rest of the participants.

Another important "supplier" was the Iraqi army, which, in turn, had in its arsenal american weapons and military equipment.

The rest of the sources of weapons that the region was flooded with - assistance from Western countries and the states of the Persian Gulf to the Syrian opposition, supplies modern weapons government army from Russia, Iran and other countries.

Syrian army

Government forces are equipped mainly with Soviet weapons, or made according to their patterns. Most often, it is quite old, but quite effective against the rebels, who are armed much worse.

The weapons and equipment of the Syrian army allow it to fight opposition rebels and Islamic State militants, but the military is noticeably short of ammunition, which makes up a significant part of the current Russian supply.

There is no exact data on the number of pieces of military equipment that the Syrian army has, since it participates in battles and suffers losses. It is rather difficult to calculate the latter due to lack of information. On the other hand, armored vehicles after some even quite serious damage can be restored.

The ground forces are armed with about three thousand obsolete Soviet tanks T-55 and T-62 (an upgraded version of the T-55), as well as relatively new T-72s in the amount of about one and a half thousand pieces. All of them are quite vulnerable in combat with the use of modern anti-tank weapons, but they represent a serious force if used correctly.

The troops have about half a thousand Soviet light armored vehicles BRDM, about two thousand infantry fighting vehicles BMP-1 and BMP-2, which have proven their reliability during numerous conflicts around the world and the Middle East region.

The fleet of armored vehicles also has obsolete light amphibious tanks PT-76, as well as wheeled armored personnel carriers BTR-152 in the amount of 300 to 500 and tracked BTR-50, which are about the same.

It is known that Syria received from Russia a number of relatively new BTR-80s, and the footage that was distributed by the Syrian military in early September was.

The Air Force of the country is armed with several dozen MiG-23 fighters of attack, combat and training modifications, about two hundred MiG-21, mainly strike, designed to destroy ground targets, up to 80 front-line MiG-29 fighters.

Su-24 front-line bombers and Su-17 heavy strike fighters, which the Syrians also have, are better suited for these purposes. There is no exact data on their number, but probably there may be several dozen.

In addition, the country's Air Force is armed with several dozen Soviet attack helicopters Mi-24 and French SA 342M.

The Syrian air fleet needs a deep upgrade, it is barely enough to counter the rebels.

The Syrian military has an impressive arsenal of Soviet-made towed artillery, down to World War II cannons, as well as various systems salvo fire, starting with the very ancient Soviet BM-14 and ending with the BM-21 Grad, tactical ballistic missiles, among which are the R-17 (SCUD B) and Tochka.

Anti-tank weapons, in addition to artillery, include Russian complexes"Cornet" and "Bastion", French HOT and others.

In service Syrian air defense there are Soviet stationary complexes S-200, C-75 Dvina, S-125 Pechora, mobile Osa, Buk and Strela, as well as the latest Pantsir C1. Russia, however the fate of this contract is unknown.

Russia

Russia is supporting the Syrian army from the air, strikes at ground targets. Moscow insists that these goals are related to the "Islamic State", the Syrian opposition claims that Russian aircraft bombed her positions.

At present, the Russian air group includes attack and multipurpose aircraft. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, these are 12 Su-24M front-line bombers, 12 Su-25SM attack aircraft, four Su-30SM fighters, six Su-34 bombers, Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters.

Attack aircraft Su-25, whose the main task to support troops on the battlefield - a veteran of many conflicts involving Soviet and Russian troops since the 1980s.

Su-24M is an all-weather front-line bomber, and it can fly to the target at low altitude. This is a fairly efficient machine, which, however, has been in service since the early 1970s and has a rather high accident rate. During the period of operation due to emergency situations, more than 80 aircraft were lost.

Su-34 bombers, which were also deployed to Syria, are designed to replace the Su-24 in Russian Air Force. The Su-34 was created on the basis of the Su-27 fighter, it is equipped with powerful system weapon control, which allows the use of high-precision systems, but has not yet been used in combat for its intended purpose.

The Su-30SM is one of the latest modifications of the Su-27. This is a modern multifunctional fighter that can attack ground targets and conduct air combat.

Russia has a service center for naval ships in Syria, and an operational ship group is constantly on duty off the Syrian coast. At present, it is headed by the Moskva missile cruiser, which is capable of striking both surface and underwater, ground and air targets. The group includes patrol and landing ships.

There is no exact information about Russian armored vehicles in Syria.

In early September, American sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity that seven Russian T-90 tanks and artillery mounts, which, judging by their location, are intended to protect Russian personnel.

In addition, it is possible that the BTR-82, which appeared on the footage of the Syrian chronicle in September, was controlled by a Russian crew.

Islamic state

Data on weapons and military equipment at the disposal of the "Islamic state" varies depending on the sources so much that they have no certain systems.

The main "suppliers" of IS were the Syrian and Iraqi armies - as a result of several successful operations a significant amount of weapons and equipment fell into the hands of Islamic militants.

The account of military vehicles captured by IS often goes to units - several Gvozdika self-propelled guns, anti-aircraft systems"Shilka", launchers "Grad", BMP-2.

There are also such exotics as M1 Abrams tanks captured from the Iraqi army. True, there were no reports of their use, but videos appeared on the network in which persons resembling militants blew up these tanks allegedly for propaganda purposes.

Other vehicles were captured in large numbers - several dozen T-55 tanks, Soviet-made BRDM, American armored vehicles M1117, MRAP.

The "Islamic State", according to the US, is trying. Moreover, in the West it is not ruled out that IS already tried to use it in August, although without much effect.

Syrian opposition

The detachments that unite under the name "Syrian opposition" are armed in a variety of ways - from modern anti-tank guided missiles "Kornet" and "Metis" to such museum samples as the Soviet "three-rulers" of the times of the Great Patriotic War, German STG-44 assault rifles and British Lee Enfield of the same period.

Both the opposition and the ISIS are armed with light pickup trucks, which have already become classic for guerrilla wars, in the back of which a heavy machine gun is mounted, or even the Soviet ZU-23 twin anti-aircraft gun (which is more often installed on full-fledged trucks).

Such improvised fighting vehicles are vulnerable to fire from any small arms, but are able to move quickly, and are very effective in surprise attacks on fortified positions of government forces.

During the years of the war, the oppositionists also acquired a tank fleet of vehicles captured from the Syrian army. Among them are T-55, T-62, as well as lighter armored vehicles - BMP-1, BMP-2, BTR-60 and others.

Coalition

The international coalition against the Islamic State includes the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Australia, Canada, Jordan, Turkey and other countries.

Members of the coalition different relationships with members of the opposition camp. For example, relations between Turkey and the Kurdish Peshmerga are hostile, but the Turks help other groups.

The international coalition does not conduct ground operations, limited to air strikes against ISIS targets.

First of all, they involve the US Air Force, which uses a full range of fighter-bombers for strikes, including the F / A-18 Super Hornet, F-16 Falcon, F-15E Strike Eagle, as well as the latest fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighters.

In addition, U-2 and RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones, AH-64D Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters are participating in the operation.

The remaining members of the coalition also use American military equipment, modernized taking into account the interests of the customer, so strike missions as part of their air contingents are carried out by the same F-15, F-16 or F-18 in various modifications (F-22 is in service only with the Air Force USA).

The militants of the Islamic State, until recently, actively pursued an occupation policy to seize large territories Iraq and Syria. One of the secrets of success was the arming of terrorists.

Light weapons.

The human rights organization Amnesty International published a report according to which the militants of the "Islamic State" have a huge amount of weapons. It has been flowing uncontrollably to the Middle East for decades, mostly from the United States and its allies. According to human rights activists international organization Amnesty International's weapons, even supplied to "moderate" groups, can easily change ownership and end up in the hands of extremists. Terrorists use more than 100 types of weapons originating in about 25 countries.

Most modern weapons and ammunition for it (as a result of large-scale US deliveries), including armored vehicles of various classes, the militants seized from the Iraqi army, which was retreating from Mosul, where military depots were located. "The variety of weaponry the group uses demonstrates how reckless arms dealing is leading to large-scale brutality," researcher Patrick Wilken was quoted as saying in the report.

Consider the report of the Conflict Armament Research (CAR) organization.

According to the organization, during the conflict in Iraq and Syria, bullets and cartridge cases produced in the United States were repeatedly found on the battlefield. More specifically, among the examined 1,700 weapon shells from cartridges used by jihadists, more than 20% were American-made. An interesting fact is the discovery of cartridge cases made in Iran, China, the USSR and a number of other countries of the former communist camp, manufactured since 1945. The main part of this ammunition was collected in Iraq and the northern part of Syria (Gatash, Khair).

Also, experts found a number of special finds. The first of these is the M-79 Osa hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher manufactured in Yugoslavia. It can fire 90mm rockets.

M79 "Wasp"

Experts say that it was these grenade launchers that Saudi Arabia supplied to the oppositionists of the Free Syrian Army in 2013. Thus, in Once again there is a connection between the ruling Saudi dynasty and the militants of the Islamic State (officially condemned by the government Saudi Arabia). The next sample is an assault automatic rifle manufactured by Colt Defense and FN Manufacturing, which is in service with the United States Army. We are talking about the Colt M16A4 rifle (one of the latest modifications). Another type of American weaponry captured from jihadists is the XM15 E2S semi-automatic rifle - essentially the same M16, but so to speak, its “civilian version” manufactured by Bushmaster. According to researchers, both rifles were seized by Islamic State terrorists in military depots of the Iraqi army.

It should be noted that one of the main and massive view The militants' weapon is a 7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle. Specifically, samples of 1960, 1964 and 1970 were seized.

Talking about samples precision weapons, it is worth mentioning the Croatian Elmech EM992 sniper rifle. It was created on the basis of the German magazine carbine developed in 1935 Mauser 98k, which was still in service in parts of the Third Reich. Another sniper rifle found by militants was a Chinese Type 79 7.62mm caliber. This copy is an exact copy of the sniper SVD rifles which was produced in the USSR.

Based on the data obtained, the following main sources of weapons for ISIS can be identified:

• syrian army warehouses,
• iraq army depots,
• weapons taken in battle
• acquired in the process of active foreign trade.

Heavy armored vehicles, artillery.

Speaking about the presence of armored vehicles and artillery systems in ISIS militants, it is worth mentioning the words of Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Abadi about the capture of 2,300 US-made armored off-road vehicles with heavy small arms HUMVEE during the battles near Mosul in 2015.

The Pentagon, in turn, provided disappointing data on the presence, until recently, of more than a hundred American main battle tanks Abrams M1A1 in militants. Although supporters of the "conspiracy theory" claim that there was only a veiled transfer of technology to the so-called. "moderate opposition" to counter the "Assad regime" in Syria.

According to various sources the army of the "caliphate" at the peak of its power had 140 Abrams tanks of the M1A1 modification. Almost all of them were captured during the ambush of the Iraqi military in Anbar province. This generation of tanks has been produced since 1984 and is equipped with a 120-mm smoothbore gun, forty rounds of ammunition, reinforced frontal armor and an integrated system for protecting the crew from weapons of mass destruction with the possibility of air conditioning. The cost of such a tank is about $4.3 million per unit.

As a result of the large-scale retreat of the Iraqi Army, the city of Ramadi with a population of 850 thousand people and hundreds of pieces of heavy equipment, including artillery, passed into the hands of the terrorists. By preliminary estimates- 52 US-made M198 Howitzer artillery towed howitzers worth $0.5 million each. Development systems of the 1970s, produced in the amount of about 1700 units, are still in service with the armies of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bahrain, Honduras, Greece, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Tunisia, Ecuador, Thailand.

Do not forget that in addition to American military equipment, ISIS was armed with a large number of such production Soviet Union, namely: the T-55 is a medium tank of the sixties and seventies of the last century, which essentially served as the progenitor of the main battle tanks, the T-62 is also a Soviet medium tank, a continuation and modification of the T-55 vehicles, and light armored vehicles BMP and BRDM. The most modern model in this series was the Russian T-90 tank, captured from government troops more than six months ago. The machine went to the militants fully combat-ready, was resold several times and eventually “surfaced” in the battles in the province of Hama, however, its appearance will not play a special turning point, due to the presence of modern anti-tank weapons in the CAA.

A number of sources also indicate that the militants have multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) BM-21 and operational-tactical missile systems (OTRK) SCAD of the Iraqi army, built on the basis of Soviet ballistic missiles R-17. However, an extremely difficult technique to master, requiring qualified specialists and a number of other factors invisible to the layman, led to the fact that not a single SCAD missile took off.

Light armored vehicles. Motorized infantry.

The tactics of warfare in the conditions of Iraq and Syria require the presence of highly mobile units, which have become combat units based pickups. Today, armed pickup trucks can be found everywhere they go. fighting: in South American countries, where guerrillas are at war with the government, drug dealers with the law, and police with gangs - there are special forces law enforcement use pickups for their own purposes. In Iraq, a machine gun mounted on a police car is the norm, while the larger the caliber, the better. In Afghanistan, combat pickups are called "technical" and they are used not only by terrorists, but by most of the special forces of the NATO contingent. Exactly the same situation is now developing in the territories of Syria and Iraq, where pickup trucks with installed heavy machine guns used by all parties to the conflict, including the Forces special operations RF.

Among the many models of pickups, the most popular among the militants today was the car Toyota Hilux. The US military compares this pickup truck in terms of reliability with a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

The main armament of such machines on the side of the IG was the DShKM heavy machine gun (or its Chinese counterpart "Type 54"). It is a modernized machine gun Degtyarev and Shpagin. Although given type weapons was adopted by the Red Army back in 1938, and today it is a formidable force due to the high efficiency of firing at armored targets and the rate of fire.

The second most popular installation on pickup trucks is the 14.5 mm Vladimirov heavy machine gun (KPVT), which poses a serious threat to light armored vehicles and aviation. Often, machine guns are simply removed from damaged armored vehicles, handles are welded to them, and a sight is installed. In addition, a significant part of the "technical" is equipped with launchers of unguided rockets. Basically, helicopter blocks installed on home-made machines are used in this role. But there are also absolutely handicraft samples, where there are no sights and missile stabilization, which makes such weapons ineffective.

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It is worth noting that there are also pickup trucks equipped with a really formidable artillery weapons- 107 mm jet system salvo fire "Type 63", made in China and quadruple launcher Egyptian-made 122mm SACR missiles. However, firing from them often poses a threat to the terrorists themselves: a car carelessly left on the rise threatens to tip over and shoot itself, and a car may ignite or detonate ammunition in the back of a car from a rocket jet. As a means of direct fire support, ISIS terrorists use American 106-mm M40 recoilless rifles.

However, faced with the realities of combat in the city, the Teknikals began to be heavily armored. They additionally began to install armor plates in the front of the car, home-made shields for the machine gunner in the back. For these purposes, hatches from infantry fighting vehicles were often used.

The logic of choosing military pickups is understandable and is explained by the presence of a number of advantages:

- capacity: a ton of cargo or up to 20 fighters with weapons, which is not available to a regular jeep.

- in case of sudden attack vehicle can be easily abandoned;

- speed of movement and sudden strike,

- possibility of installation powerful weapons directly into the body, thus compensating for the lack of armored vehicles and air and artillery support.

Aviation

Caliphate fighters in the first year of the war in Syria and Iraq captured a number of American UH60 Black Hawk helicopters, MiG-21 and MiG-23 fighters of Soviet production. However, the complete air supremacy of the aviation of Russia and NATO countries, the establishment of Khmeimim and Tartus bases using anti-aircraft missile systems () and Pantsir-S1 did not allow these "trophies" to rise into the sky. Most of them were destroyed by government forces while still on the ground.

At the same time, militants actively use unmanned aerial vehicles. aircrafts, based on commercial models of quadcopters and hexacopters. Tuning them with video cameras high resolution, reinforced batteries and mortar shells, hanging them on UAVs and dropping them over the positions of regular troops in Iraq and Syria.

air defense

IS militants often use as air defense systems heavy machine guns and man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). On the defeated government bases, the terrorists were able to capture a small number of American Stinger complexes. ISIS also has Russian MANPADS"Arrow", "Needle" and their foreign "replicas". With the help of these systems, they managed to shoot down several helicopters of government forces.

Anti-tank systems

RPG-7 grenade launchers became the main anti-tank weapons of the soldiers of the self-proclaimed caliphate - they are cheap and easy to operate. Among the captured weapons were a number of Konkurs, Fagot anti-tank guided systems and Chinese HJ-8 ATGMs capable of hitting targets at distances of up to three kilometers. The most modern anti-tank system, which militants use, including against helicopters at low altitudes or hovering, is the American TOW, supplied by the United States of the so-called. "moderate opposition" in Syria. They account for the main losses of government armored vehicles and the bulk of the "media" campaign of IS militants.

Mortars

Since the end of 2013, ISIS has begun mass production and use of self-made Hellfire mortars. They are self-made howitzers, the shells for which are household gas cylinders stuffed with an enhanced charge of ammonium nitrate and striking elements to increase the number of victims. As a means of ensuring explosions, a home-made fuse or a regular one from artillery ammunition is equipped. Such a "projectile" can be equipped with a chemical poisonous substance (proven cases of the use of mustard gas and mustard gas by militants are known). The accuracy of such weapons is quite low, but the destructive power is very high.

Calculating ballistics with a tablet

Analyzing pictures from social networks and publicly available information on the Internet, it is clear that the militants use Apple iPad tablets with a publicly accessible software MBC (Mortar Ballistic Calculator), which allows you to calculate the trajectory of mortar shells. By purchasing an application for little money and having data on wind, range to the target, etc. From the appropriate devices, easily available in online stores, IS militants can fire standard mortars with the necessary accuracy.

Summing up, it is worth saying that the weapons we described and military equipment militants are by no means limited to the above. Due to the lack of weapons supplied on a regular basis and centrally, terrorists have to replace them with a motley mass of handicraft weapons and modified, converted, restored samples (such as the T-34 tank of the Great Patriotic War, which is fired like a gun remotely using a cord) .

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And if the bandits failed to capture or buy something, you have to be smart - handicraft workshops provide the insurgents with artillery and even rocket weapons.
Zvezda tells about the most unusual weapons of the rebel groups.
М16А4
A mangled rifle with an inscription on receiver"Property of US government" (that is, "property of the United States") was, of course, the most curious specimen of the display of captured weapons at the Army-2017 exhibition. How did the modern American rifle get to the militants? Most likely, the M16 was captured by ISIS militants (an organization banned in Russia) in the warehouses of the Iraqi army, to which they were officially supplied.
R-40
If a primitive savage were lucky enough to find a gun, he would certainly be delighted with such a good, durable club. In the photo - primitive rocket launcher. Only now the rocket installed on it is far from primitive - it is the Soviet R-40, designed to arm the MiG-25P interceptor fighter. A hypersonic projectile made of titanium, with a thermal imager guidance head, resistant to electronic countermeasures, is used by ISIS in an installation, in comparison with which the ancient Katyusha BM-13 is the crown of engineering.

RBG 40mm/6M11

Another sample that raises many questions is the Serbian revolver grenade launcher. He recently appeared in service with opposition groups and ISIS militants. The weapon itself is not too remarkable, especially since it is a copy of the South African Milkor MGL 40x46mm. However, there is no information about export sales of the RBG 40mm / 6M11, the grenade launcher is generally not very common in the world. This indirectly points to shadow channels for the supply of weapons to Syria from Southeast Europe.

fortress gun

The lack of modern high-precision weapons forces the militants to construct real monsters. The photo shows something like a fortress gun of the 17th-18th century, that is, something in between a musket and a cannon. Of course, in a more modern guise: this stationary gun is probably made under the cartridge of a heavy Soviet DShK machine gun. In addition, a cheap optical sight, most likely taken from an air rifle, draws attention.

A more serious instance: an Austrian precision rifle, which is in service with NATO countries. It was demonstrated among other trophies at the Army-2017 exhibition. Developed in the early 70s, the SSG-69 rifle remains a serious argument in the hands of a trained shooter today - for a series of 10 shots, the dispersion diameter at 800 meters is no more than 40 cm. That is, at this distance an experienced sniper can still hit a full-length figure. At the same time, at 300 meters, the spread will not exceed 9 cm. Perhaps this high-quality weapon was first provided to the Syrian opposition, from where it ended up in ISIS.

LPG mortars

In war, all means are good, especially since they are initially flammable. Domestic gas cylinders have long been loved by ISIS terrorists as shells for homemade large-caliber mortars (from 218 to 305 mm). However, it cannot be said that progress stands still: in Lately stabilizers were welded to the cylinders. It is unlikely that this seriously improved the accuracy of throwing household containers, on the other hand, shooting at residential areas does not require scrupulous calculation.

Chemical weapon
Perhaps the most frightening specimen captured Russian special forces in Syria, this is an installation for the synthesis of toxic substances in the field. It is a concrete mixer where reagents are poured - in themselves they are relatively harmless, but when mixed they form organophosphorus poisonous substances (OS) such as tabun or sarin. Note that this kind of binary method for obtaining OF for a long time was used by the United States - say, artillery shells were equipped with precursors that mixed during the shot, forming
nerve agent V-gas.