First S-300 System GOES LIVE in Syria

  ‘49 pieces of hardware’: Syria gets S-300 missile system & more from Russia in wake of Il-20 downing

RT,

2 October, 2018

The S-300 air defense system and dozens of additional hardware pieces have been delivered to the Syrian military to boost security of Russian personnel there, Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoigu, told President Vladimir Putin.

 

“We have completed the delivery of the S-300 system,” Shoigu said Tuesday. The hardware supplied to Syria consisted of 49 pieces of military equipment, including radars, control vehicles and four launchers, he added.

The delivery is meant to protect Russian troops in Syria, coming in wake of the downing of a Russian reconnaissance plane in mid-September.

A unified air defense control system in Syria will be completed by October 20, Shoigu told the Security Council. Russia will “prepare and train” the Syrian crews to operate the S-300 within three months.

Earlier, Shoigu said that Syrian air-defense posts will be equipped with automated control systems that were previously only supplied to the Russian military.

The reinforced Syrian defenses will be able to suppress satellite navigation, radars and communications systems of combat planes over the Mediterranean Sea. This, Shoigu said, might “cool some hotheads down and avert them from ill-judged acts that endanger our troops.”

The delivery is a response to the downing of the Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane in Syria on September 17. The aircraft, with 15 servicemen on board, was mistakenly shot down by Syrian air-defense units during an Israeli raid. While Israel has publicly denied any responsibility, Moscow has presented radar data showing that an Israeli F-16 jet used the plane as a cover. The incident has caused some tension between Russia and Israel, with the latter blaming Syria and its ally Iran for the downing.

READ MORE: Iran warns Israel it will ‘regret’ further attacks on Syria & allies

From Hal Turner

First S-300 System GOES LIVE in Syria

The first battery of the Russian-made S-300 air-defense missile system has come into service, my former colleagues in the Intelligence Community reported on Tuesday.

The Russian Ministry of Defense sent new anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, a week after Syrian forces accidentally shot down a Russian aircraft Il-20 during an Israeli air strike, on September 17.

Russia has blamed the incident on Israel and said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used the Russian Il-20 as a shield. The Israeli side has refuted these statements, saying that they had notified the Russian side in due time.

Moscow has publicly said it would send four battalions of S-300 to Syria within two weeks, but at least SIX such systems have already arrived via air (wheeled transport vehicles) and several others are already en-route via ship (tracked vehicles) according to my Intel sources.

The S-300 air defense missile system can cover facilities on the Syrian coast and monitor the Syrian border with Israel as well as with Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.

The source explained that the number of battalions of the S-300 is now expected to rise to 8 or more, depending on developments and conditions as needed.

Israeli military expert told the Russian online newspaper “Vzglyad” that Israel will not attack the S300 missiles due to political – not technical – reasons.

“Technically, everything is possible. But this is not the case. The main issue lies in that supplying Syria with S300 missiles might bring Russian and Israel on the brink of a direct military confrontation”, he commented.

“There is a clear understanding in Israel that S300 missiles will completely close the Israeli airspace”, said Uzi Rubin; founder of the Israeli agency for developing the missile defense system and a co-founder of HETZ anti-missile system. The truth, however, is that while the S-300 can monitor all of Israeli airspace, its effective interception area is only about 150km from launch point, meaning it cannot destroy aircraft in ALL of Israeli air space.