Game changer: Russia to sell one of the world’s most advanced anti-aircraft systems to Syria- Israel warns of consequences

Raising the stakes: The Russian S-300 is meant to keep Israeli jets out of the skies over Syria. If Israel does not develop effective counter-measures to defeat or jam the system- Israel will have no other choice but to attack Russian convoys on arrival to Syria.

May 28, 2013 – ISRAEL – An advanced anti-aircraft system destined for Syria has not left Russia yet, but Israel will know how to act if it does, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Tuesday. Yaalon’s remarks appeared to contradict Israel’s air force chief, who said last week the shipment of S-300 missiles was “on its way” to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is battling a popular uprising that has turned into a civil war. Israel is alarmed by the prospect of Russia supplying advanced weapon systems to Syria, saying such arms could end up in the hands of arch-foe Iran or the Lebanese Hezbollah group. “I can say that the shipments are not on their way yet,” Yaalon told reporters. “I hope they will not leave, and if, God forbid, they reach Syria, we will know what to do,” he said, without disclosing how he came by the information. Although Israel has not publicly taken sides in the Syrian conflict, Western and Israeli sources say it has launched air strikes inside Syria to destroy weapons it believed were destined for Hezbollah guerrillas allied to Assad. Russia’s foreign minister said on May 13 that Moscow had no new plans to sell the S-300 to Syria but left open the possibility of delivering such systems under an existing contract. Israeli Strategic Affairs and Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said the S-300 can reach deep into the Jewish state and threaten flights over its main commercial airport near Tel Aviv. He said he hoped Russia would cancel the deal. “This is still unfortunately the plan, and we are very concerned,” Steinitz told reporters in Jerusalem. “This is a kind of encouragement, a kind of support for a brutal regime which is totally wrong, also from a moral point of view.” –Yahoo News

The S-300 is regarded as one of the most potent anti-aircraft missile systems currently fielded. Its radars have the ability to simultaneously track up to 100 targets while engaging up to 12. S-300 deployment time is five minutes. The S-300 missiles are sealed rounds and require no maintenance over their lifetime. –Wikipedia