Syrian Arab Navy
| Syrian Arab Navy البحرية العربية السورية |
|
|---|---|
Flag of the Syrian Arab Navy
|
|
| Founded | 1946 |
| Country |
 Syria |
| Allegiance |
 President of Syria
|
| Type | Navy |
| Role | Naval warfare |
| Size | |
| Part of |
 Syrian Armed Forces
|
| Garrison/HQ | Damascus |
| Commanders | |
| President of Syria | FM Bashar al-Assad |
| Minister of Defense | Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij |
| Chief of Naval Staff | Vice Admiral Muhamad Al-Ahmad |
The Syrian Arab Navy (Arabic: البحرية العربية السورية) is the smallest of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is under the Syrian Army's Latakia regional command with the fleet based in the ports of Baniyas, Latakia, Minat al Bayda, and Tartus.
In 1950, the Syrian Navy was established following the procurement of a few naval vessels from France. The initial personnel consisted of army soldiers who had been sent to French naval academies for training.
During the Yom Kippur War (1973 Arab–Israeli War) the Israeli Navy sank five Syrian naval ships without a loss during the Battle of Latakia. As a result, the Syrian Navy remained in port for the rest of the conflict.
Tartus hosts a Soviet-era naval supply and maintenance base, under a 1971 agreement with Syria. The base was established during the Cold War to support the Soviet Navy's fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. Since Russia forgave Syria three-fourths of its $13.4 billion Soviet-era debt and became its main arms supplier, the two countries have conducted talks about allowing Russia to develop and enlarge its naval base, so that Russia can strengthen its naval presence in the Mediterranean. Amid Russia's deteriorating relations with the West, because of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War and plans to deploy a US missile defense shield in Poland, President Assad agreed to the port’s conversion into a permanent Middle East base for Russia’s nuclear-armed warships. Since 2009, Russia has been renovating the Tartus naval base and dredging the port to allow access for its larger naval vessels.
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Wikipedia