Abstract
ABSTRACTOn 30 September 2015, Russian military forces began their overt involvement in the then-four-year-old Syrian Civil War; the subsequent Russian air campaign and political support to the Assad regime are now well documented. However, Russia’s material military support remains largely understudied. This article explores one line of material supported with a demonstrated impact on Syrian Arab Army military operations, as well as Russia’s use of Syria as a sandbox for promoting its defense industry. This article seeks to analyze the deployment, impact, and use of half a dozen T-90A main battle tanks provided to Syrian government forces and their allies in November 2015. It argues that the provision of this weapon played a role in the regime’s significant victories on the battlefield — and assesses their impact on the battle of Aleppo (19 July 2012–22 December 2016). Its performance on the battlefield likely served as a positive showcase for the platform, which contributed to a series of considerable arms deals of the platform to states across the Middle East and South and East Asia. Finally, our research demonstrates the extent to which this platform was utilized by various pro-regime proxy forces in Syria, including those closely linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
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