Moscow’s S-300 Double Bluff in Syria
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By Roger McDermott
October 12, 2018
In early October, following the loss of an Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea on September 17—which Moscow blamed on Israel—Russia carried out a high-profile additional deployment of the S-300 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) (see EDM, September 27, October 9). However, the underlying reason for the free transfer of this advanced SAM system to the SAA—purportedly, in response to the incident on September 17—masks several deeper issues as well as Moscow’s true motives (Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, October 3). Such systems, apart from their role in air defense, form an integral part of the Russian Armed Forces’ stand-off strike capability, feed into a layered air defense, and constitute important elements of Russia’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategies. With a growing emphasis placed upon high-precision strike systems in Russian military modernization, these can offer a variety of options and possible use for General Staff planners, ranging from force protection as already seen in Syria, to possible offensive operations and the threat of their use to coerce an adversary or to send strategic signals (see EDM, October 2).
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/10/12/moscows_s-300_double_bluff_in_syria_113890.html
