Media reports indicate that Turkish forces are planning on deploying to the Tiyas Airbase, also known as the T4, and the Palmyra military airport in Syria’s Homs province—two sites recently targeted multiple times by Israeli airstrikes. According to several sources, Turkey plans to install Hisar-O and Hisar-U air defense systems and potentially the long-range SIPER system at these locations. The deployment of a Russian-made S-400 system is also under consideration, pending Moscow’s approval.
The move appears aimed at deterring Israeli air operations, countering Islamic State activity, and asserting Turkish influence amid the waning presence of Iranian and Russian forces in Syria. If approved, deploying the S-400 could mark a strategic shift with broad implications and may serve as Turkey’s most significant leverage in Syria.
A Turkish military delegation traveled to the T4 airbase from the Turkish-held bases in Idlib. The delegation conducted reconnaissance operations but has not brought any vehicles or military reinforcements to the sites so far.
Turkish forces began constructing a new military base inside the Menagh military airport, located 6 kilometers south of the city of Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo Governorate. Military sources confirmed to Al Arabi Al Jadid at the time that the Turkish army was preparing the airport, including deploying armored vehicles, logistical materials, and construction equipment. These developments suggest the base may become a key hub for Turkish forces in northern Aleppo soon.
T4 Airbase is located near the village of Tiyas, 60 kilometers east of Palmyra in the Homs Governorate. It is Syria’s largest airbase, featuring a main runway and two secondary runways that each total 3 kilometers. During the Syrian Civil War, the airbase was used by the Bashar al Assad regime’s Syrian Arab Army and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) to launch attacks on rebel-held areas. In December 2016, after the Islamic State seized Palmyra from Assad’s forces, the group attacked T4 and claimed to have destroyed four Syrian Air Force jets.
In 2018, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck the base, destroying the main air control tower. Later, in April 2018, another attack destroyed a hangar used to store drones and an Iranian-supplied Tor missile system before it could become fully operational. The airbase has also served as a launch point for drone strikes by Iran-backed Shia militias targeting US bases in northern Syria.
On October 8, 2021, Israeli warplanes once again targeted T4 with missiles at around 9:30 pm, injuring six Syrian soldiers, according to Syrian media. Israel maintains that Iranian forces continued to use the base. In early December 2024, T4 was captured by the US-backed Syrian Free Army.
Israel is concerned that the Syrian government may allow Turkey to establish military bases within its territory, potentially hindering Israel’s freedom of operation in Syria. The concern comes amid growing cooperation between Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.
Over the past two weeks, Israel has targeted key military airbases in Syria, including the T4 base, to send a clear message about protecting its operational freedom in Syria. Israeli strikes on Syrian airfields aim to complicate Turkish military logistics and Ankara’s ability to operate in the region. Recent satellite images confirm that Israeli airstrikes have caused some damage to the T4 airbase, creating craters on the runway that can prevent heavy-lift transport planes from landing.
The IDF airstrikes targeting T4 and other Syrian airbases over the past week are unlikely to be the last. Israel harbors significant concerns about Ahmad al Sharaa’s Islamist inclinations, and in light of the shifts in Jerusalem’s security posture following Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, Israel’s approach has become more proactive and risk-averse. The deployment of advanced air-defense systems to an airbase just 140 miles from Israel’s borders is unlikely to sit well with the country’s political and security leadership.
