Yuri Kobzar18:05, 04/21/24

On Friday, Israel got even with Iran for a week-old attack.

This Friday, Israel struck Iran in response to a massive Iranian attack a week ago. The New York Times has learned that the Israelis hit a military base in the province of Isfahan.

As Western and Iranian officials told reporters on condition of anonymity, the strike destroyed the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile system.

It is unknown what kind of weapon hit the Iranian facility. Three Western and two Iranian officials said Israel may have used drones and at least one missile fired from a military aircraft. Earlier, Iranian officials said the attack on the military base was carried out by small drones, which were most likely launched from Iran itself.

Two Western officials said the missile was fired from a military aircraft far from Israeli or Iranian airspace, and that the weapon included technology that allowed it to evade Iran’s radar defenses. Two Iranian officials said the military did not detect anything entering the country’s airspace on Friday, including drones, missiles or aircraft.

Columnist for the German publication Bild Christopher Buhl notes that the Iranian authorities were proud of the S-300 systems purchased from Russia. At military parades, launchers were hung with portraits and quotes of Ayatollah Khamenei.

What is the S-300 system

The S-300 anti-aircraft missile system is a Soviet development that has been mass-produced since the mid-1970s. Depending on the modification, it can shoot down air targets at a distance of 40 to 200 km (but in most versions – up to 75 or 150 km). Such complexes were in service with almost all countries of the “socialist camp” and were exported to friendly non-socialist countries.

At the time of the collapse of the USSR, Iran did not have these systems in service. In 2007, Tehran ordered 5 S-300 divisions from Moscow, which were eventually delivered in 2015-16 in the then most modern modification of the S-300 PMU2. Iran currently has 32 S-300 launchers, which is equivalent to 4 divisions.

S-300 systems of various modifications were repeatedly destroyed during the Russian-Ukrainian war – on both sides. In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have repeatedly destroyed the more powerful and much more modern S-400 system , which Russia created after the collapse of the USSR.

(C)UNIAN 2024