By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans in collaboration with Jakub Janovsky and Calibre Obscura

Turkish air and ground strikes which commenced late on the 27th of February 2020 on positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SyAA) and affiliated forces hit a large number of targets throughout Idlib and Aleppo, leading to the complete collapse of government forces along this part of the frontline and allowing rebel forces to continue their advance after recapturing the strategic town of Saraqib. Launched in retaliation after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in an airstrike, Turkey has now entered a new phase in its war in Syria, and at present the long-term implications can only be guessed at.

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

After the delivery of T-62Ms, BMP-1s, BMP-2s and at least one 2S9 to the Syrian Arab Army since early 2017, new imagery and combat footage coming out of Syria's Idlib Governorate has now revealed that more variants of these types have been sent to the country onboard Russia's 'Syria Express'.

In accordance with Russia's role in the reinstatement of the Syrian Arab Army, it is also Russia that is responsible for training and equipping the new force. Although this led some to believe that Syria would receive additional T-72Bs, T-90s or even BMP-3s, all of which would be more advanced than the current armour composition of the regime forces, the deliveries until thus far have mostly included older weaponry excess to Russian requirements.

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

There it was, what looked to be a tram or an armoured battle wagon parked under a tree in the town of Bawiza, North of Mosul in November 2016. Abandoned by its previous owners, this behemoth previously made an appearance in the now infamous Islamic State offensive near Naweran, North of Mosul, a video which went viral due to the rather comical performance of several fighters involved in the offensive. While Abu Hajaar became the inspiration of memes across all corners of the internet, the Islamic State's usage of up-armoured trucks and other vehicles involved in this offensive was of particular interest for others.

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

The YPG is well known for operating a large fleet of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) and other up-armoured battle monstrosities throughout the Northern Syrian theatre of conflict. Having performed these upgrades on a range of armoured fighting and support vehicles in the past years, the YPG has now begun fabricating its own true armour by introducing a new type of armoured personnel carrier (APC), designated the BMB (either you get it, or you don't) in this article.

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is a breakaway state in Eastern Europe that has remained in the shadows ever since its self-proclaimed independence as a Soviet republic in 1990 and subsequent violent breakaway from Moldova in 1992. Despite having ended armed conflict that same year, the situation in Transnistria remains extremely complicated, with the the breakaway state wishing to join Russia (which maintains a local peacekeeping mission) while continuing to remain heavily reliant on Moldova for exporting the limited produce its economy outputs. Nevertheless, Transnistria functions as a de-facto state with its own military and even air arm.

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

The Islamic State's rise to the status of one of the most sophisticated designated terrorist groups ever to exist has been accompanied by an unprecedented level of ingenuity, especially considering the fact that most of their sites and weaponry were quickly targeted by Air Forces operating over the conflicted battlespaces of Syria and Iraq. In an attempt to address this threat the Islamic State resorted to desperate measures such as using conventional artillery as makeshift anti-aircraft guns, relying on the remote chance of achieving a direct hit on enemy aircraft flying high in the sky to bring them down.