Terrorists in Syria are using the newest weapons, drones, means of electronic warfare and toxic substances, the chief of the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate said on Friday, citing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with explosive devices in Raqqa during the clashes between Daesh and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
"Terrorists have started using in the Syrian conflict the latest armaments, means of intelligence and electronic warfare, homemade toxic substances. Unmanned aerial devices are widely used in reconnaissance and attack equipment," Col. Gen. Igor Korobov said at the Army-2017 International Military-Technical Forum.
"Currently, for a relatively small amount one can purchase lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles or components to manufacture them. After a small modification they can not only conduct aerial reconnaissance, but [can] also be used to carry out strikes. In Syria, there have been numerous cases of terrorists using 'Kamikaze' drones, dropping improvised explosive devices, and mortar shells from UAVs," he said, adding that the number of drones used by terrorists continues to grow.
Radio Sputnik discussed the issue with expert of military-political journalism Boris Rozhin.
"In the province of Idlib, al-Nusra Front terrorists boosted their positions. They squeezed out a significant part of the pro-Turkish [Syrian] rebels, seized the provincial capital; and now a large number of militant groups in Idlib are led by them. But they [al-Nusra Front terrorists] do not completely control the [Idlib] province. This is sort of an internal fighting, which does not exclude the struggle against [Syrian President Bashar] Assad, which al-Nusra Front names as its main goal. As for weapons, they [the terrorists] have different weapons seized in various battles, as well as more modern arms, ie drones, which got in Syria mainly through covert channels to arm terrorists," Rozhin told Radio Sputnik.
When commenting on the "Kamikaze" drones, the expert said that terrorists could use them not only for reconnaissance.
"It's clear that they [self-made drones] are inferior to full-fledged army drones, but they are suitable both for reconnaissance, fire adjustment and for bomb-dropping, when drones are armed with grenades, mines, and then dropped on the enemy. This tactic was worked out in [Iraqi] Mosul, so in addition to the standard warfare means, terrorists try to use some more modern technologies, fitting them up to their own needs," the military expert said.
"We have developed a system, including subsystems of detection, warnings of flights of unmanned aerial vehicles, and jamming and hard-kill measures," Novikov said.
He noted that subsystems comprised missile defense means, radioelectronic combat (REC) systems and aerial surveillance equipment. Novikov added that special units eliminated drones by using small weapons.
