Win-Win: What the Russian Military Gained During the Operation in Syria

During its military operation in Syria, the Russian Armed Forces didn’t just manage to deal a serious blow to Daesh terrorists and other extremist Islamic militants threatening the country; they were also able to test new types of weaponry in actual combat.

During his Q&A session on June 15, President Vladimir Putin revealed that the Russian Armed Forces have obtained invaluable battlefield experience while fighting Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) militants and other terrorist groups in Syria.

"It was a huge benefit for our military-industrial complex. By deploying the latest types of weaponry we managed to learn how it operates under battlefield conditions and to make all the necessary adjustments," the President explained.

Putin also pointed out that representatives of Russian military-industrial companies actually travelled to Syria to supervise their creations’ performance and to help rectify any malfunctions that were discovered.

All in all, the President said, the experience obtained by the Russian military in Syria was "invaluable."

His assessment was backed by Ret. Col. Andrei Golovatyuk, who told RIA Novosti that there are two chief reasons why the military operation in Syria was beneficial to Russia.

"First things first, today Russia has strategic interests in Syria. And second, Syria essentially became a testing range for new types of weapons and military hardware; also, it allowed us to obtain the kind of combat experience that cannot be gained at a regular testing range. And as we can see, our military-industrial complex is up to the task; we’ve now have highly-developed weapons and military hardware that can be used to complete any objective," he said.