Why did the US choose Tomahawk missiles to attack Syrian military bases? 0
The reason the US chose Tomahawk missiles to attack Syrian military bases
US destroyer launches Tomahawk missile
59 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched on the morning of April 7 from the destroyers USS Ross and USS Poter in the eastern Mediterranean, targeting a number of targets at Shayrat base, Homs province, according to Jeff Davis, Pentagon spokesman.
Commentator Dan Lamothe said that Tomahawk missiles have been an indispensable part of the wars the US has participated in, since the Gulf War in 1991. In 2014, the US warships USS Philippine Sea and USS Arleigh Burke launched 47 missiles.
One of the biggest advantages of Tomahawk is that it does not require US warships to approach the target at a dangerous distance.
The Syrian army is operating older S-200 air defense missiles, but supported by state-of-the-art S-300 and S-400 systems deployed by Russia around military bases in Latakia province.
Tomahawk missile power.
Chris Harmer, defense expert at the Institute for the Study of War, said that the US could use EA-18G Growler electronic warfare fighters and many other means to jam Russian radar before launching an attack.
Harmer believes that the US does not need to mobilize large weapons such as fighters or strategic bombers to strike sanctions against the Syrian air base.
`We have an advantage, but that doesn’t mean that Russia’s air defense system is helpless. Tomahawk has weaker destructive power than bombs on manned aircraft, but is completely feasible to destroy fighter jets.`
A Tomahawk variant can carry cluster munitions that explode above the target’s head, creating shrapnel and causing fires, helping to destroy vehicles, logistics warehouses and aircraft on the runway.
Location of Shayrat base near Homs.
The US decision to use cruise missiles instead of bombers to attack Syria may partly be due to political reasons.
The US Navy can use AV-8B Harrier fighter ships launched from warships in the Mediterranean to penetrate Syrian airspace to bomb, but the possibility of these aircraft being caught by Syrian and Russian radar, which covers a
