Editor's Foreword

272 ThE MiliTAry BAlANcE 2010
deplOyment
ARAbIAn GUlF And IndIAn OCeAn
Maritime Security Operations 2 FFG
FOReIGn FORCes
United States US Central Command: Army 144; Navy 25;
USAF 81; USMC 27; OPM-SANG 500
syria SYR
Syrian Pound S£ 2008 2009 2010
GDP S£ 2.36tr 2.45tr
US$ 51.4bn 53.3bn
per capita US$ 2,411 2,448
Growth % 45.2 3.0
inflation % 15.2 7.5
Def bdgt S£ 89.3bn 86.2bn
US$ 1.94bn 1.87bn
US$1=S£ 46.0 46.0
Population 21,762,978
Age 0–14 15–19 20–24 25–29 30–64 65 plus
Male 19% 6% 5% 4% 14% 2%
Female 18% 6% 5% 4% 14% 2%
capabilities
ACtIve 325,000 (Army 220,000 Navy 5,000 Air
40,000 Air Defence 60,000) Paramilitary 108,000
ReseRve 314,000 (Army 280,000 Navy 4,000 Air
10,000 Air Defence 20,000)
Terms of service conscription, 30 months
ORGAnIsAtIOns by seRvICe
Army 220,000 (incl conscripts)
FORCes by ROle
3 Corps HQ
Armd 7 div (each: 3 armd; 1 mech; 1 arty bde)
Tk 1 indep regt
Mech 3 div (under strength) (each: 1 armd, 2
mech, 1 arty bde)
Inf 4 indep bde
SF 1 div (10 SF gp)
Arty 2 indep bde
AT 2 indep bde
SSM 1 (Coastal Def) bde with SS-C-1B Sepal
and SS-C-3 Styx; 1 bde (3 SSM bn with
FROG-7); 1 bde (3 SSM bn with SS-21); 1
bde (3 SSM bn with Scud-B/-C)
Border Guard 1 indep bde
Security 1 div (Republican Guard) (3 armd, 1
mech, 1 arty bde)
reserves
Armd 1 div HQ; 4 bde; 2 regt
Inf 31 regt
Arty 3 regt
eQUIpment by type
MBT 4,950: 1,500–1,700 T-72 T-72M; 1,000 T-62K/T-62M;
2,250 T-55/T-55MV (some in store)
RECCE 590 BRDM-2
AIFV up to 2,450 BMP-1/BMP-2/BMP-3
APC (W) 1,500: 500 BTR-152; 1,000 BTR-50/BTR-60/BTR-
70
ARTY up to 3,440+
SP 500+: 122mm 450+: 400 2S1 Carnation (Gvosdik);
50+ D-30 (mounted on T34/85 chassis); 152mm 50 2S3
(Akatsiya)
TOWED 2,030: 122mm 1,150: 500 D-30; 150 (M-30)
M1938; 500 in store (no given designation); 130mm
700-800 M-46; 152mm 70 D-20/ML-20 M1937; 180mm
10 S23
MRL up to 500: 107mm up to 200 Type-63; 122mm up
to 300 BM-21 (Grad)
MOR 410+: 82mm; 120mm circa 400 M-1943; 160mm
M-160 (hundreds); 240mm up to 10 M-240
AT • MSL 2,600
SP 410 9P133 BRDM-2 Sagger
MANPATS 2190+: 150 AT-4 9K111 Spigot; 40 AT-5
9K113 Spandrel; AT-7 9K115 Saxhorn; 800 AT-10
9K116 Stabber; 1,000 AT-14 9M133 Kornet; 200
Milan
RL 73mm RPG-7 Knout; 105mm RPG-29
AD • SAM 4,184+
SP 84: 14 SA-8 Gecko; 20 SA-9 Gaskin; 20 SA-11 Gadfly;
30 SA-13 Gopher
MANPAD 4,100+: 4,000+ SA-7 Grail/SA-18 Grouse
(Igla); 100 SA-14 Gremlin
GUNS 1,225+
SP ZSU-23-4
TOWED 23mm 600 ZU-23; 37mm M-1939; 57mm
600 S-60; 100mm 25 KS-19
MSL • TACTICAL • SSM 94+: 18 Scud-B/Scud-C/
Scud-D; 30 look-a-like; 18 FROG-7; 18+ SS-21 Tochka
(Scarab); 4 SS-C-1B Sepal; 6 SS-C-3 Styx (ε850 SSM msl
total)
navy 5,000
eQUIpment by type
PRINCIPAL SURFACE COMBATANTS • FRIGATES •
FF 2 Petya III each with 1 triple 533mm ASTT (3 eff.) with
SAET-60 HWT, 4 RBU 2500 Smerch 1 (64 eff.)†, 2 76mm
twin gun
PATROL AND COASTAL COMBATANTS 21:
PFM 10 Osa I/II each with 4 single each with 1 SS-N-2C
Styx tactical SSM
PFI 11: 8 Zhuk less than 100 tonnes; ε3 Tir each with 2
single with C-802 (CSS-N-8) Saccade tactical SSM
MINE WARFARE • MINE COUNTERMEASURES 5:
MSC 1 Natya
MSI 3 Yevgenya
MSO 1 T-43 (FSU)