The Russian Federation has recently boosted their military aid to the embattled Syrian Armed Forces, providing not only heavy weaponry, armor, and military personnel, but also, satellite imagery that has assisted the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) with locating the positions of the enemy combatants across Syria.

In August of 2015, the Syrian-Russo military agreement was finalized after the Syrian Government’s Deputy Prime Minister – Walid Muallem – visited the Russian capital of Moscow to accept the terms of the proposal that would allow for the Russian military to increase the total number of soldiers on the ground in western Syria.

As a result, the Russian military command sent a number of advisors to the port-city of Tartous in order to begin the process of using satellite imagery to expose enemy positions and the Syrian Armed Forces’ overall effectiveness as a cohesive unit to combat terrorists around the country.

So far, the satellite imagery provided by the Russian military has paid dividends for the Syrian Air Force, as they are now able to track terrorist convoys and movements across the country without the use of spy drones; this has resulted in less flights and more damage to the enemy combatants.

According to a military source in east Homs, the Syrian Air Force’s airstrikes above the ancient city of Palmyra on Friday were by far the most effective aerial bombardment since the terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) captured this desert area in the Homs Governorate.

On Friday, the Syrian Air Force launched only 11 airstrikes above Palmyra; yet, these airstrikes were extremely effective, as they destroyed four armored vehicles along the road to the Ancient Quarries in northern Palmyra.

At the volatile Idlib Governorate, the Syrian Air Force only launched 23 airstrikes, marking the first time since October of 2012 that the SAAF hasn’t conducted more than 30 airstrikes inside this northern Syrian province.