"MOST CRUISE MISSILES DOWNED BY SYRIANS" RUSSIANS CLAIM

One of the reasons why so little damage was done in the recent airstrike on Syria was because the Syrians were able to shoot down around 70% of the missiles launched against them, using Soviet-made S-120, S-200 and Buk-type anti-aircraft systems. 

In fact, one of the targets, the Al-Dumayr air base east of Damascus, which was targeted by 12 cruise missiles, was reportedly untouched after all the enemy missiles were shot down. 

This achievement is all the more remarkable because the Russians, who have much more advanced air defence systems in the country to protect their own forces, did not deploy them. If they had, probably all the Western missiles fired would have been shot down:

The defense ministry said the Russian forces did not deploy their air defense systems stationed in Syria to intercept the American, British, and French missiles. For its part, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford said the Pentagon "specifically identified targets" to "mitigate the risk of Russian forces being involved." The coalition did contact their Russian counterparts to "deconflict airspace," but did not "coordinate targets" with Moscow.

The unused Russian air defence systems in Syria include the Pantsir and the S-400. 

The Pantsir is a kind of mobile machine-gun cannon with a maximum fire rate of 5,000 rounds per minute. But it also packs twelve anti-aircraft missiles in twelve tubes, with an effective range of 10 to 20 kilometres. Introduced in 2012, the device is designed to provide short-range "point defence" of vital installations, like air bases.

The S-400, as its name suggests, is a long-range missile defence system that has a top range of 400 km. Each unit has four missiles that can take out bombers, fighter jets, and ballistic missiles long before they reach their targets. 

Together with the Pantsir, which is ideal for destroying low-flying missiles or drone swarms, the two systems provide a highly effective "layered" air defence system.  

In January, following a drone swarm attack on a Russian airbase in which some aircraft were damaged, the Russians announced that the Pantsir system would be upgraded with a new type of missile called the "gvozd" (the Russian word for "nail"), to help it destroy smaller, low-flying targets. The Pantsir can carry four gvozds in each tube, giving a total of 48 per unit.