File image.
On March 31, the US-led coalition launched an aerostat from its base in the CONICO gas plant in the eastern countryside of Syria’s Deir Ezzor.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Euphrates Post shared videos of the aerostat, which was identified as the Silicis Technologies’ DURUS Tactical Aerostat.
The tactical aerostat was designed to accommodate interchangeable payloads for different missions, including ISR&T [Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting], electronic warfare, communications relay as well as C-sUAS [Counter small Unmanned Aerial Systems].
The DURUS, which has a reduce of 7.62 meters, can stay in the air for 21 continuous days. The aerostat has a top altitude of 274 meters and an air-to-ground communication range of up to 72 kilometers.
While US-led coalition has been using aerostats in Iraq for the last few years, this was the first time the coalition was spotted deploying such a system in Syria.
The US-led coalition is likely using the tactical aerostat to track ISIS cells, which have been very active in the eastern and southeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, as well as to keep an eye on Syrian government forces and their allies who maintain control over several towns and villages right next to the CONICO gas plant.
The deployment of the aerostat highlights the US-led coalition’s attempt to expand its presence in Syria’s northeastern region in cooperation with its local proxy, the Syrian Democratic Forces.
And was it shot down yet by the SAA?