Turkish drone destroys Russian-made Pantsir air defense system in Idlib
On Friday, a missile fired by a Turkish drone destroyed a Russian-made Pantsir-S1 deployed by the Syrian Army in Idlib province.
A video released by Turkish media, shows an active Syrian Pantsir being destroyed by a Turkish drone.
According to Turkish media, the Pantsir radar was active when it was hit, indicating that the system failed to detect the incoming missile.
The Syrian Air Defense Force reportedly has more than 30 Pantsir systems. Russia has also strengthened its Syrian Khmeimim air base with Pantsir systems to prevent air strikes. The systems were deployed in Khmeimim after a series of drone attacks in 2018.
Combat unmanned aerial vehicles used by the Turkish military against the Syrian army led to Syria’s largest losses, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense. After Turkey started using drones against the Syrian Armed Forces, Assad’s army has lost about a hundred units of armored vehicles and several hundred military personnel.
Russian news outlet Avia.pro writes that, for unknown reasons, Turkish drones are invisible to Syrian air defense systems. According to the news outlet, Pantsir radars are possibly “blinded” by Turkish electronic warfare systems.