--- title: U.S. and Russia Sending Conflicting Weapons to Syria description: The United States is sending ground troops and Russia is sending weapons to Syria, but they may end up hurting each other. canonical: https://time.com/4102908/syria-russian-weapons/ author: Mark Thompson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-06T16:39:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:13.543Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.S. and Russia Sending Conflicting Weapons to Syria og:description: Best suited for shooting at each other. og:url: https://time.com/4102908/syria-russian-weapons/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8615513a24871c8/69886fea8e06013b2546333b/151106-f-qo662-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3618 og:image:height: 2035 og:image:alt: 151106-F-QO662-001 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. and Russia Sending Conflicting Weapons to Syria twitter:description: Best suited for shooting at each other. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8615513a24871c8/69886fea8e06013b2546333b/151106-f-qo662-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. and Russia Sending Weapons to Syria Best-Suited for Shooting at Each Other > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=111bc9cd-cc70-4ae0-b6b2-20b0c0663da3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Raw: Secretary Kerry's Remarks on Syria [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Raw: Secretary Kerry's Remarks on Syria](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hy4e2KNk.m3u8) (0:25)  _Published 2015-10-31. TIME Raw: Secretary Kerry's Remarks on Syria_ by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Nov 6, 2015 4:39 PM UTC  An F-15C leaves its English base for Turkey on Friday. An F-15C leaves its English base for Turkey on Friday. Air Force / Nigel Sandridge by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Nov 6, 2015 4:39 PM UTC Those heartbreaking [stories](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/19/boy-6-fatally-shoots-toddler-brother-while-playing-cops-and-robbers-dad-arrested/) of a youngster killed by a parent’s wayward gun can lead one to wonder: what the heck was Dad thinking? Yet something similar seems to be happening as Russia and the U.S. deploy forces to fight in Syria. While they’re battling different rebel groups inside that wartorn land—the U.S. is going after the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria, while the Russians are mostly battling other rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad—neither of those outfits has an air force. Yet six F-15C fighters—which can only fight other warplanes—arrived in Turkey on Friday. The planes “were deployed after the Government of Turkey requested support in securing the sovereignty of Turkish airspace,” the U.S. Air Force [said](http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123462805). While it added that the planes “will conduct combat air patrols in Turkish air space,” there’s also a fair [chance](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/03/u-s-brings-dogfighters-to-counter-russians-over-syria.html) they’ll be used to escort U.S. and allied warplanes attacking ISIS targets inside Syria. On Thursday, a Russian general [said](http://news.yahoo.com/russia-sent-missile-systems-syria-air-force-chief-112108528.html) his military has dispatched “anti-aircraft rocket systems” to Syria because “we took into account every possible threat.” The units deployed include Buk anti-aircraft missile systems, the same kind of weapon that brought down a Malaysia Airlines 777 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing all 298 on board. Both deployments comport with the old military adage to “git there firstest with the mostest.” But the fact that there are no rebel targets for either kind of weapon is worrisome. While Russian airpower is focused on western Syria, and U.S.-led bombing focused in the north and eastern parts of the country, accidents and miscalculations made amid the fog of war can lead to unforeseen tragedies. The U.S. Navy decision to shoot down an Iranian airliner over the Persian Gulf in 1988, killing 290, is one example. So is the U.S. Air Force’s decision to destroy a pair of U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters over Iraq in 1994, killing all 26 aboard. “We’re not going to make Syria into a proxy war between the United States and Russia,” President Obama pledged last month. If that’s the case, it might be wiser to keep such weapons at home. **Read Next:** [_Why the U.S. Hopes ISIS Didn’t Destroy the Russian Airliner_](http://time.com/4101358/russian-airliner-isis/) ## Transcript You learned today about the loss of an airliner flying, a Russian plane flying from Egypt, Sharm el- Sheikh, to St, Petersburg, I think. 224 people aboard. And we simply want to extend our condolences to Russia. And to all of the families, we don't know any details about it, but obviously the initial reports represent the tremendous tragedy and loss and we extend our sympathies to the families and all those concerned ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4102908/syria-russian-weapons/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4102908/syria-russian-weapons/"},"headline":"U.S. and Russia Sending Weapons to Syria Best-Suited for Shooting at Each Other","datePublished":"2015-11-06T16:39:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:57:13.543Z","description":"Deployments raise questions about possible targets","url":"https://time.com/4102908/syria-russian-weapons/","keywords":["Military","russia","Syria","Weapons"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8615513a24871c8/69886fea8e06013b2546333b/151106-f-qo662-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Thompson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8615513a24871c8/69886fea8e06013b2546333b/151106-f-qo662-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"151106-F-QO662-001","caption":"An F-15C leaves its English base for Turkey on Friday.","creditText":"Air Force / Nigel Sandridge","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/military/","name":"Military"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4102908/syria-russian-weapons/","name":"U.S. and Russia Sending Weapons to Syria Best-Suited for Shooting at Each Other"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Raw: Secretary Kerry's Remarks on Syria","description":"TIME Raw: Secretary Kerry's Remarks on Syria","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hy4e2KNk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-31T15:39:20.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hy4e2KNk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4102908/syria-russian-weapons/","duration":"PT25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4102908/syria-russian-weapons/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```