By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans in collaboration with Jakub Janovsky and Calibre Obscura

Turkish air and ground strikes which commenced late on the 27th of February 2020 on positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SyAA) and affiliated forces hit a large number of targets throughout Idlib and Aleppo, leading to the complete collapse of government forces along this part of the frontline and allowing rebel forces to continue their advance after recapturing the strategic town of Saraqib. Launched in retaliation after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in an airstrike, Turkey has now entered a new phase in its war in Syria, and at present the long-term implications can only be guessed at.

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

After the delivery of T-62Ms, BMP-1s, BMP-2s and at least one 2S9 to the Syrian Arab Army since early 2017, new imagery and combat footage coming out of Syria's Idlib Governorate has now revealed that more variants of these types have been sent to the country onboard Russia's 'Syria Express'.

In accordance with Russia's role in the reinstatement of the Syrian Arab Army, it is also Russia that is responsible for training and equipping the new force. Although this led some to believe that Syria would receive additional T-72Bs, T-90s or even BMP-3s, all of which would be more advanced than the current armour composition of the regime forces, the deliveries until thus far have mostly included older weaponry excess to Russian requirements.