The drone war waged by armed factions loyal to Iran in Syria and Iraq has become a worry for the United States, as its soldiers and bases in the region, supported by an advanced defense system and under the surveillance of its satellites, apparently have not fortified them sufficiently so that they do not remain a target for swarms of cheap and small-sized Iranian drones.
Since last October 19, these factions have launched 112 attacks, whether with missiles or marches, on American bases inside Syrian territory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The most recent of these attacks occurred yesterday evening, Saturday, when the militias launched a missile attack on the American base in the Al-Omar field in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
However, the air defenses that tried to confront these missiles were unable to shoot them down. This new targeting of the base came shortly after a similar attack on an American base in the Conico gas field.
Stealth and stealth
Due to the accelerating intensity of the conflict, suicide planes are often used extensively in the Syrian conflict, by many international parties, armed factions, and militias throughout the country.
However, confronting these small unmanned fighters involves many challenges, according to what Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Rahal explained, unlike their large counterparts that can be shot down with traditional anti-aircraft techniques.
He also added in an interview with Al Arabiya.net that the American defense system can shoot down these drones, but it faces several difficulties, including seeing these aircraft with the naked eye from close distances, and therefore they are not detectable by air defense radars designed to detect large and fast fighters.
He also noted that some of these radars, although their systems are effective against small drones, are expensive.
According to press reports by military experts, they estimated the cost of each Patriot missile at approximately one million dollars if it was used to shoot down a drone whose cost does not exceed $500.
“Close distances”
In addition, Al-Rahal stated that if these fighters were discovered, they would be from distances that would be impossible to deal with. He said: “If it sees the time it takes for the soldiers to inform the fire management system of hitting the target, it will be an opportunity for the march to carry out its mission successfully. Although the technology used in making these suicide bombers is not complicated, they are distinguished by their ability to fly at low altitudes, and if they are monitored, they are discovered in the stages.” The latter makes it difficult to target and therefore shoot it down.”
For his part, Ahmed Amir, a researcher on Iranian affairs, said that the security pressure on the area where the Al-Tanf base is located, in Homs Governorate, at the security-troubled Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian border triangle, cannot be denied, and its effect in dispersing the monitoring radar systems cannot be denied, explaining that this may affect These systems quickly detect the enemy air target as it approaches.
American forces in Syria
He said in statements to Al Arabiya.net: “It takes more time than necessary to alert commanders and human personnel of facing an air threat, especially if the threat is the Shahed 107 march.”
He also added: “The first remark that comes to mind when hearing the name of this drone is Washington’s accusation and security sources’ confirmation that Iran continues to manufacture Shahed drones for use in the Russia-Ukraine war. If we look closely at the specifications of that drone, we find that it is equipped with advanced and necessary technologies to strike targets.” It is valuable, as it is equipped with technologies that enable it to identify the multiple American and British missile systems used by the Ukrainian army in the war, and this important observation leads us to realize the superiority of this advanced type of Iranian drones over the also advanced British and American systems recently sent to Ukraine.”
Regarding the possession of the American bases in Syria in general, and the Al-Tanf base in particular, with updated air defense equipment and systems, the Emir confirmed that the American bases in this region are provided with defense systems such as “Thod”, which has been proven to fail more than once during the past decade in a number of famous events, and its level of efficiency is lower than that of the system. Russian S400.
It is noteworthy that late last month, the logistical support base at Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan was attacked by Iraqi armed factions, which led to the death of 3 American soldiers and the wounding of 34, which prompted the US army to later carry out several strikes on the sites of those factions in Syria and Iraq.
Since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas on October 7, attacks on American forces in the two countries have escalated, amounting to more than 165 attacks using missiles and explosive devices.
