Air Force Commander: Assad has spent billions on air defense

Air Force Commander, Major General Amir Eshel, delivered today (Wednesday) words at the national security of the Fisher Institute, and addressed the issue of advanced air defense weapons of Syria. "The Assad regime has invested heavily to get the best aerial defense capabilities they could buy," he said. "Such systems are not only an operative threat; they also bring a sense of confidence that can cause countries to do things they would otherwise not do. This is a completely different generation of weapons, which is not similar to what it was before. But no system has any solution; the only question is the price."

"Air superiority is a prerequisite to win - and win quickly, and has a high strategic importance," said Maj. Gen. Eshel the strengthening of Syrian anti-aircraft missiles. "The other side understands this very well, so Assad has invested billions in its budget to purchase advanced anti-aircraft missiles - SA-17, SA-22 and SA-24, and the S-300 which Russia sent to Syria."
Air Force Commander added that "Syria is changing before our eyes. Whether it collapses tomorrow - we may soon find this vast arsenal dispersed and directed towards us."

Maj. Gen. Eshel spoke at the conference focused on the conclusions of Yom Kippur War, and said that preparation to surprise war is now "all the more relevant." "The surprise of war can be born today in many forms. Individual events can escalate very quickly, and require us to be ready within the hour to run to the edge of the spectrum, and when I say end of the spectrum – I mean operating all the capabilities of the Air Force."
General also stressed: "If during the Second Lebanon War we used only a small portion of these abilities, in the next war we have to give a hundred percent, so that our activities will be fast and very powerful."

Air Force Commander also referred to cooperation with the ground forces, "Air Force should pave the way for ground forces through the very heavy bombs that reach the ground and will make maneuvering much easier and faster. We should be a key component in the ground and we will deal with that."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!