The first battery of the Russian-made S-300 air-defense missile system has come into service, Russian media reported on Tuesday.
“According to local sources, the first battery of the anti-aircraft complex S-300 came into service with the Syrian Arab Army” ANNA news agency tweeted.
https://twitter.com/annanews_info/status/1047083940086001664
Russian Minister of Defense said to send 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.
Read More : Officially : Russia delivers S300 missile system to Syria- MoD
How Many S-300 battalions Russia will send to Syria?
The Russian daily “Kommersant” said Moscow would send about four battalions of S-300 air defense to Syria within two weeks, according to an informed source.
According to Kommersant, The S-300 air defense missile system would 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 missile system, which will be sent to Syria could rise to 6 or 8 battalions, depending on developments and conditions as needed.
Will Israel be capable of destroying S300 missiles in Syria?
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.
Read related: Israeli stealth F-35 fighters tests S300 system in Syria
