US strike on Syria would test PLA radar systems: Defense News
Staff Reporter 2013-09-04 16:16
The JYL-1 radar system of the People's Liberation Army. (Internet Photo)
China may soon be able to know how well its radar systems perform in a combat situation should the United States launch a military strike against Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack against civilians, according to defense analyst Wendell Minnick in an recent article in the Washington-based Defense News.
The Syrian military currently deploys three Chinese systems — the JYL-1 3-D long-range surveillance radar, the Type 120 (LLQ120) 2D low-altitude acquisition radar, and the JY-27 VHF long-range surveillance radar, according to Richard Fisher, an US analyst from the International Assessment and Strategy Center.
If the Syrian military were to use the radar systems against US targets, the People's Liberation Army would be able to collect critical information regarding their effectiveness against US weapons systems. The data could then be used in a potential conflict with the US over disputes including Taiwan, and territorial issues in the East and South China seas, the report said.
However, Fisher said that US aircraft will also be able to glean information about the systems and learn how to counter and evade the PLA's radar systems in Syria. Currently, the Syrian military has 120 surface-to-air missile sites with a combination of Russian and former Soviet systems including the SA-2, SA-3, SA-5, and SA-6 according to Sean O'Connor, the editor of online military blog IMINT & Analysis.
In addition, the Syrian military has 50 early warning radar facilities with both Russian and Chinese systems. "Modern Chinese EW radars can detect US low-observable aircraft and perhaps even very-low-observable ones," said O'Connor. "Particularly effective are the two 500-km JY-27 radars delivered in 2006, now deployed north and south of the city of Palmyra in central Syria."
With those two JY-27 radar sites, O'Connor said that the Syrian military is able to monitor the bulk of the nation's air space along with significant amount of the surrounding region. For the Type 120 radar, he said that it is able to track 72 targets within 200 kilometers. He added that the Type 120 radar in China is equipped with HQ-9 and HQ-12 air defense missiles, but the radar is only used in Syria as a dedicated early warning asset.
As for the JYL-1 3D radar with the ability to detect targets 320 kilometers away, O'Connor said that it is currently deployed at Kafr Buhum in central Syria. The analyst, however, questioned whether the Chinese radars can pass data directly to the Soviet-era weapons still used in Syria. The Syrian military relies on Cold War-era air defense missiles designed by the Soviet Union, O' Conner said, adding that the country's current integrated air defense system will not pose a serious threat to US and NATO aircraft in the region.
