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Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East

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Syria

Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities and Programs1

Updated: April 2006

Nuclear [2]
  • No evidence of a nuclear weapons program.
  • Nuclear technological development remains at the research stage.
  • One 30KW research reactor in Dayr Al Hajar, near Damascus, under IAEA safeguards.
  • Ratified the NPT on 9/24/69; has not signed the CTBT.
  • Alleged negotiations in 2003 between Russian and Syrian officials regarding construction of a nuclear reactor. The status of the negotiations is unknown.
  • Has called for a nuclear weapon-free Middle East in the United Nations.
Chemical [3]
  • Largest and most advanced CW capability in the Middle East.
  • Alleged to have chemical warheads for Scud ballistic missiles, and chemical gravity and cluster bombs for delivery by aircraft.
  • Alleged CW stockpile in hundreds of tons.
  • Agents believed to include Sarin, VX, and mustard gas. Sarin and mustard gas have been allegedly weaponized.
  • Major production facilities near Damascus, Homs and Hama with hundreds of tons of agents produced annually.
  • Program remains dependent on foreign chemicals and equipment.
  • U.S. alleges that Syria tested CW in 2002-2003.
  • Not a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Biological [4]
  • Weapons research program, but no evidence of production capability.
  • Signed the BTWC on 4/14/72, but has not ratified the convention.
Ballistic missiles [5]
  • 60-120 Scud-C with 500km range and 500-600kg payload.
  • Up to 200 Scud-B missiles with 300km range and 985kg payload.
  • Developing Scud D with 700km range and 500kg payload.
  • 36 or more SS-21 Scarab with 70km range and 480kg payload.
  • Developing indigenous production capability for accurate M-9 [CSS-6 or DF-15] missiles with 600km range and 500kg payload.
  • U.S. alleges that Syria seeks foreign assistance to develop a solid-fuel motor capability.
Cruise missiles [6]
  • SS-N-3b Sepal with 450km range and 1,000kg payload.
  • SS-N-2c Styx with 80km range and 513kg payload.
Other delivery systems [7]
  • Fighter and ground-attack aircraft include 20 Su-24, 50 Su-22, 20 Mig-29, 30 Mig-25, 44-60 Mig-23BN, 90 Mig-23, and 160 Mig-21.
  • Ground systems include field artillery and rocket launchers, notably 90+ FROG-7 artillery rockets with 18+ launchers, which have a 70km range and a 435kg payload.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) [8]
  • Tupolev TU-243 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with 360km range and unknown payload.
  • Malachite UAV with 120km range and 130kg payload.

Sources:

  1. This chart summarizes data available from public sources. Precise assessment of a state's capabilities is difficult because most weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs remain secret and cannot be verified independently.
  2. Michael Eisenstadt, "Syria's Strategic Weapons," Jane's Intelligence Review 5/93, p. 169. "Syria: Objectives, Strategies and Resources," Proliferation: Threat and Response, Office of the Secretary of Defense, (Washington, DC: US Department of Defense, 1997), p. 18. [Online] http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/. Anthony H. Cordesman, "Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East: National Efforts, War Fighting Capabilities, Weapons Lethality, Terrorism and Arms Control Implications" (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2/98), p. 22. Anthony H. Cordesman, "Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East: The Impact on the Regional Military Balance," CSIS (Working Draft), 3/25/05, p. 58, [Online] http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/050325_proliferation[1].pdf. "Syria Reiterated Demand for Nuclear-Free Middle East," Agence France Presse, 1/27/04. "Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions 1 July Through 31 December 2003," (Washington, D.C., Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, 2004), p. 6, [Online] http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/721_reports/pdfs/721report_july_dec2003.pdf.
  3. Eisenstadt, p. 170. Office of the Secretary of Defense, pp. 18-19. Cordesman, 1998 p. 21. Cordesman, 2005, p. 56. "Devil's Brews Briefings: Syria," Centre for Defence and International Security Studies (CDISS), 1996 [Online] http:://www.cdiss.org/cbwnb5.htm. Ahmed S. Hashim, Chemical and Biological Weapons and Deterrence Case Study 1: Syria (Alexandria, VA: Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute, 1998), p. 5. Uzi Mahnaimi, "Syria Builds Nerve Gas Arsenal," Sunday Times, 11/17/96, [Online] http://personal.the-times.co.uk:80. Paul Beaver, "Syria To Make Chemical Bomblets For 'Scud Cs," Jane's Defence Weekly, 9/3/97, p. 3. "Chemical Overview," Nuclear Threat Initiative, 2006, [Online] http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/syria/chemical/2973.html. "Chemical Weapons," GlobalSecurity.org, 2006, [Online] http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/syria/cw.htm. "The Country Next Door," Newshour with Jim Lehrer - transcript, 4/14/03, [Online] http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan_june03/syria_04-14.html.
  4. Eisenstadt, p. 170. Office of the Secretary of Defense, pp. 19-20. Cordesman, 1998, p. 22. Hashim, p. 10.
  5. "Missile and Space Launch Capabilties of Selected Countries," The Nonproliferation Review, forthcoming 1998. Duncan Lennox, ed., "Country Inventory – In Service," and "Scud B/C Variants," Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems Issue 24, 5/97. Eisenstadt, pp. 170-171. Office of the Secretary of Defense, p. 20. Cordesman, 1998 p. 21. Cordesman, 2005, pp. 53-56. "Syria," Federation of American Scientists, 3/17/97, [Online] http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/missile/syria.htm. Andrew Feickert, "Missile Survey: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles of Foreign Countries," CRS, 3/5/05, p. 27, [Online] http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/report/crs/31999.pdf. Joshua Williams, "World Missile Chart," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 3/1/05, [Online] http://www.carnegieendowment.org/npp/ballisticmissilechart.cfm. Ed Blanche, "Syria 'Boosts Accuracy' of Scud D," Jane's Missiles and Rockets, 1/1/06. "Worldwide Ballistic Missile Inventories," Arms Control Association, 5/02, [Online] http://www.armscontrol.org/pdf/missiles.pdf. "Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions 1 July Through 31 December 2003," (Washington, D.C., Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, 2004), p. 6.
  6. Eisenstadt, p. 172. Office of the Secretary of Defense, p. 20. Cordesman, 1998, p. 21.
  7. Office of the Secretary of Defense, p. 20. Cordesman, 1998, p. 21. Cordesman, 2005, p. 53. Cordesman, "The Arab-Israeli Balance," in The Military Balance in the Middle East: Assessing the Balance, Total Forces, Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers, CSIS, 2/19/04, p. 43, [Online] http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/me_mb_ai.pdf. CDISS. The Military Balance 1997/98 (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1997), p. 147. "Syria," Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, 3/05, pp. 10-12, [Online] http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/balance/syria.pdf.
  8. IDR Dispatches, "Russian UAV Available for Export," 9/95, p. 3. Charles Bickers, "Russia Renews its UAV Developments," Jane's Defence Weekly 7/23/94, p. 24.


Originally prepared by Michael Barletta and Erik Jorgensen, May 1998;
Updated by Sammy Salama and Alexis Zeiger, April 2006.

© Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies. April 2006


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