Syrian Armed Forces

Not to be confused with Syrian National Army.

Syrian Arab Armed Forces
القوات المسلحة العربية السورية ‎
Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces
Coat of arms of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces
Mottoوطن، شرف، إخلاص
Watan, Sharaf, Ikhlas
("Homeland, Honor, Sincerity")
Founded1946; 78 years ago (1946)
Current form1971; 53 years ago (1971)
Service branchesSyrian Arab Army
Syrian Arab Navy
Syrian Arab Air Force
Syrian Arab Air Defense Force
National Defence Forces[1]
HeadquartersHay'at al-Arkan, Umayyad Square, Damascus
Leadership
Commander-in-chief Marshal Bashar al-Assad[2]
Minister of Defence Gen. Ali Mahmoud Abbas
Chief of the General Staff Gen. Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim
Personnel
Military age18
ConscriptionYes
Active personnel170,000[3]
Reserve personnel50,000[3] (NDF+LDF)
Expenditure
Budget$1.8 billion (2019)
Percent of GDP4.5% (2020)
Industry
Domestic suppliersSyrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (CERS)[4][5]
Établissement Industriel de la Défense (EID)[6][7]
Syrian Defense Laboratories (SDL)[8]
Foreign suppliers Armenia[9]
 Belarus[9]
 Bulgaria[10]
 China[9]
 Iran[11][9]
 North Korea[9][12]
 Iraq[9]
 Russia[9]
 Venezuela[9]
 Cuba[9]
 Laos[9]
 Pakistan[9]
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of Syria
RanksMilitary ranks of Syria

The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; Arabic: القوات المسلحة العربية السورية, romanized: al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Republic. They consist of the Syrian Army, Syrian Air Force, Syrian Navy, Syrian Air Defense Force, and paramilitary forces, such as the National Defence Forces. According to the Constitution of Syria, the President of Syria is the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.[13] Minister of Defense holds the position of Deputy Commander-in-chief of the Army and Armed Forces.[14]

The military is a conscripted force; males serve in the military at age 18, but they are exempted from service if they do not have a brother who can take care of their parents. Since the Syrian Civil War, the enlisted members of the Syrian military have dropped by over half from a pre-civil war figure of 325,000 to 150,000 soldiers in the army in December 2014 due to casualties, desertions and draft dodging,[15] reaching between 178,000 and 220,000 soldiers in the army,[16] in addition to 80,000 to 100,000 irregular forces. By 2023, the number of active soldiers in the Syrian military increased to 170,000.[17] Also in 2023, the number of active paramilitary and reserve forces in the Syrian military may have decreased by as much as 50,000.[17][18]

  1. ^ "SYRIA UPDATE: THE FALL OF AL-QUSAYR". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Bashal al-Assad in uniform with rank of Marshal". thewhatandthewhy.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b IISS 2023, p. 354.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference isr1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Gertz, Bill (23 July 1996). "CIA Suspects Chinese Firm of Syria Missile Aid". The Washington Times.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "IDENTIFYING MATERIEL MANUFACTURED IN THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA (DPRK)". Conflict Armament Research. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Exploring Iran's Role in Syrian Defence Industry and its Geopolitical Ramifications". Special Eurasia. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  8. ^ A Syrian-produced North Korean Type 68 rifle on sale in Yemen. We can notice the Syrian Defense Laboratories logo stamped on it, which we have seen in the past across Syria. (h/t @FighterXwar_ar).
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Trade Registers". Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  10. ^ "War Gains: Bulgarian Arms Add Fuel to Middle East Conflicts". 21 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Chinese Air Defense System Spotted in Syria: Russian Media". Islam Times. 1 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: July 2021 update". 2 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Syrian Arab Republic: Constitution, 2012". refworld. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.
  14. ^ "عنوان السيرة الذاتية للعماد علي عبد الله أيوب نائب رئيس مجلس الوزراء- وزير الدفاع" (in Arabic). pministry.gov.sy. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference SCMP2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Daily Star 23 September 2014
  17. ^ a b James Hackett, International Institute for Strategic Studies, ed. (2023). The Military Balance 2023. London. ISBN 978-1-003-40022-6. OCLC 1372013483.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  18. ^ "Syria Military Strength". www.globalfirepower.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.