Russia has supplied Syria air defense systems to avoid possible retaliatory attacks. This was stated by the head of the Russian air force Viktor Bondarev, in an interview with the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.
"We have calculated all possible threats. The Syrians have received fighters, attack planes, bombers, helicopters, and anti-aircraft missile systems. Any scenario has been imagined." Yes, but what systems?
The Russians (almost certainly) gave the Syrians the advanced version of the S-300 missile system (photo opening and bottom right), the VM, known as Antey-2500. The Antey-2500 is an advanced version of the basic S-300 model, which Russia no longer has online. The 9M82M missile known as "Antey-2500", (code-named NATO SA-23 Gladiator Giant) is specifically designed for tactical defense against medium-range ballistic missiles or enemy aircraft. He can follow up to 100 targets, being able to hire 12 / 24 at a distance of 200 kilometers (124 miles) and at height of 27 kilometers (about 17 miles). The SA-23 is considered immune to most Western ECM countermeasures with a operational tangency of thirty thousand meters.
The Antey, once put on line, does not require maintenance for at least ten years, while its warheads are considered able to defeat even the most modern western ballistic missiles. It is driven by an inertial system with half-way radio updating, while in the terminal phase it relies on a semi-active radar. Doubts about the redevelopment of the V4 version, with a range of 400 km. Considering that the Syrian issue is turning into a huge stage where to show (and test) its weapon systems, the Russians could also test the S-400 systems (photo below).
The S-400 Arc (NATO name SA-21 Growler) is a new generation Russian anti-aircraft weapon system, able to destroy thanks to the complete missile suite provided, short, medium and long range targets, from strategic bombers to fighters, from Tomahawks to intercontinental ballistic missiles. The S-400 would have a practically double range at the American MIM-104 Patriot. For the Russians, there is no aircraft (including the B-2, the F-22 and the F-35) capable of dealing with an S-400 system with impunity. The F-35 was not designed to operate in environments with S-300P / S-400 defenses.
