By: Aaron Mehta and Tara Copp 30 minutes ago
...
The strikes involved ordnance from all three of the western allied nations, from both air and naval assets. Overall,
105 weapons were launched by the three nations. The three targeted areas were:
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The Barzah Research and Development Center, which McKenzie called the “heart” of the CW program for the Assad regime located in “one of the most heavily defended” areas in the world, very close to the capitol of Damascus. This site was targeted with by
American forces only, with 57 Tomahawk missiles launched by sea and 19 JASSM-ER weapons launched from a pair of B-1 bombers, accompanied by protective fighter coverage. The U.S. asses this facility
was destroyed.
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The Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons facility, located west of Homs, which was hit by
all three nations. The U.S. launched
nine Tomahawks, the British launched eight Storm Shadow air-launched weapons from a mix of Tornado and Typhoon fighters, and the French launched three naval cruise missiles and two of their SCALP air launched weapons, which are their Storm Shadow equivalent. The U.S. asses this facility
was destroyed.
- The
Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons bunker, about 7 kilometers from the previous site. This was
struck only by the French, with
seven SCALP missiles. In both locations, the SCALP weapons were fired by a mix of Rafale and Mirage fighters. This location
took “damage,” per McKenzie.
Much had been made about the intensity of the air defense systems in Syria, a combination of Syrian and high-end Russian defense systems. But the
Russian systems did not attempt to intercept the incoming weaponry, and the Syrian system launched around
40 surface to air missiles after the last targeted weapon hit its target, per the department.Those systems were “
remarkably ineffective in all domains,” McKenzie said.
None of the allied air assets entered Syrian airspace, due to the stand-off weaponry used.