Hafez al-Assad became the president of Syria in 1970 and he immediately set out to build upon the efforts of his predecessor in bolstering his country's military relations with the Soviet Union and increasing the flow of armaments into Syria. In this period before the start of Syria and Egypt's war against Israel in October 1973, Syria acquired its first shipment of surface-to-surface FROG-7s (Free Rockets over Ground) from the Soviets, along with at least 12 transporter-erector-launchers (TELs) and 12 reload vehicles.[1] Syrian military technicians were also invited to the Soviet Union to train on the FROG system, while thousands of Soviet military experts were stationed in Syria to provide further military support.
The Soviet-made FROG series are unguided, solid-fueled, long-range artillery rockets designed to deliver high-explosive conventional, tactical nuclear or chemical warheads. The FROG-7 (A or B model) is an advanced version in the rocket series which offers a range up to 70km and a CEP (circular error of probability) between 500m and 700m. Syria's FROG-7 rockets are discharged from mobile launchers.
The Syrians were reportedly in full operational control of their FROG-7 stockpile as the war against the Israelis began on October 6. During the war, Syria launched FROG-7 rockets, which hit around Israeli airbases and nearby civilian settlements, including the Ramat David air base, Megiddo Airfield, Izhak ben Yaakov Airfield, Northern Command Headquarters in the mountainous area near Zefat, and civilian areas nearby such as Nahalal, Givat, Yif'at, Migdal Ha'Emeq and Kefar Barukh.[2]
Israel's foreign minister told the United Nations Security Council on October 11 that many Israeli civilian villages were struck by Syrian FROG rockets fired during the first few days of war. Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes on sites linked to the FROG launches, including the Syrian city of Homs. Overall, the Syrians fired approximately 25 FROG-7s into Israel during the October 1973 war, although the inaccuracy of the FROG in combat provided little success in knocking out specific targets. It is estimated that only two or three of the near two dozen FROG rockets launched by the Syrians caused any noteworthy destruction to military targets.[3]
Based on the poor performance of the FROG rockets during the 1973 October War, Syria sought to upgrade its missile capability the following year. In turn, the Soviets agreed not only to restock those FROG rockets expended in combat the year before, but also to supply Syria with far more accurate Scud missiles.
Today, it is estimated that Syria maintains at least one active FROG-7 brigade,[4] including between 18 and 24 launchers as well as an unknown number of rockets.[5]
[1] Wisconsin Project, "Syria: Missile Development," The Risk Report, Vol. 3, no. 2, March-April 1997, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/syria/missiles.html/>.
[2] Wisconsin Project, "Syria: Missile Development," The Risk Report, Vol. 3, no. 2, March-April 1997, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/syria/missiles.html/>.
[3] Wisconsin Project, "Syria: Missile Development," The Risk Report, Vol. 3, no. 2, March-April 1997, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/syria/missiles.html/>.
[4] Anthony H. Cordesman, "Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East," Center for Strategic and International Studies, 15 April 2003, pp.51-54.
[5] Kenneth Timmerman, Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Cases of Iran, Syria, and Libya (Los Angeles: Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1992), p. 69.
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Updated August 2004 |
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