Times of Israel: Syria to deploy S-300 batteries in the town of Masyaf
According to a report posted by “The Times of Israel”, that an Israeli company specializes in analyzing satellite images, reported that Syria has completed the installation of all batteries of S300 anti-air missile system in a high area in the Syrian town of Masyaf.
The Israeli company said the S300 air defense system in Syria appeared to be fully operating, warning that this indicated a greater threat to Israel’s ability to launch air strikes inside Syria.
Satellite images at different times showed that, on February 19, three out of four S300 batteries were fully installed at a base in the town of Masyaf, northwest of Syria, which is likely working, however the new images showed that the fourth battery took its place as well, Nine months after Russia supplied Syria with this air defense system.
The Israeli company specializing in the analysis of satellite images had questioned then that the fourth battery “may be invalid or is just a structure is not genuine or a component of deception”.
According to “The Times of Israel” report, Israel threatened to destroy the Syrian S300 system if they being used against its fighter aircraft, regardless of Russia’s possible reaction to it.
Russia announced last year that it would supply the Syrian army with a sophisticated air defense system after the shot down of a Russian reconnaissance plane during an Israeli air strike on Syria in September last year.
Moscow then accused Tel Aviv publicly, according to the report, of responsibility for dropping the plane and killing Of which, noting that the Israeli pilots used the presence of Russian reconnaissance aircraft in the sky as a cover during that raid.
The Israeli report pointed out that Russia saw that the providing the S300 missile system to Syria in the aftermath of the incident, will lead to “cooling some heads” in the region, adding that Moscow provided Damascus, in addition to anti-missile platforms, radar and targeting systems and command centers.
