(Zaman Al Wasl)- One of the S-300 air defense batteries deployed in Syria has been documented in an image produced by an Israeli-made satellite, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
The images show the battery’s four launchers and the satellite’s manufacture, ImageSat International, believes it is not currently operational because some components are still missing.
The battery is deployed near Mesyaf city in the northwestern province of Hama.
A military source told Zaman al-Wasl that the S-300 batteries will remain under the Russian control. The S-300 is only 1200 meters away from Russian missile batteries S-400 in Mesyaf.
There is a network of Syrian security industries in this area, where Iran and Syria are reportedly attempting to manufacture precise weaponry for Hezbollah. According to Arab media reports the area has been attacked by Israel several times in recent years, according to Haaretz.
The process of training the regime soldiers to be stationed at the missile batteries is expected to take some time, and the new batteries have not yet reached operational readiness.
The decision to deliver the modern defense system was reached following the shooting down of a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft, which was accidentally hit by a Syrian missile, killing 15 troops in the northwestern Latakia province.
Moscow said Israel was culpable, as the Il-20 had caught in the crossfire as four Israeli F-16 jets attacked targets in northwestern Syria.
The Israeli military said Syria's indiscriminate air defense fire was the cause of the incident.
Israel has, in the past six years, carried out hundreds of attacks inside Syria, varying from firing rockets to air raids, which have increased in intensity and frequency since 2012, when Iranian paramilitary fighters joined the conflict.
Israel has carried out about 200 air raids in the last two years, according to its officials.
Tartus Base
A military source told Zaman al-Wasl Russia had also stationed the S-300 system in an air defense battalion in Tartus province, where Syrian officers are not allowed to operate the system.
Four Antonov An-124 Ruslan aircrafts delivered the system early October to Battalion 37 in the Assad’d family stronghold in coastal region in new security measures following the downing of a Russian plane last month.
The Syrian Air Forces has recalled all officers who got trained on the S-300 systems in Russia to follow training in the Russian Hmeimym air base, according to the source.
Since it joined the Syrian conflict, Russia has generally turned a blind eye to Israeli attacks inside the country.
Israel and Russia have also maintained a hotline to prevent their air forces from clashing in the skies over Syria.
Moscow has tried to maintain good relations with Iran, which is allied with the Syrian government, as well as Israel.
Meanwhile, the Russians are demanding more clarifications from the Israeli army via a hotline to prevent aerial friction between the sides. In a few cases, the radar of Russian defense systems in Syria has been activated in the context of Israel Air Force actions in the north.
Warning Signal to Israel
A well-informed source told Zaman al-Wasl that Russia is planning to station S-300 system near the T-4 Airbase in a warning signal to Israel that hit the desert base three times since August.
Heavy Russian engineering equipment machines have begun to establish the military base west of Tiyas airbase, also known as T-4 , since mid-October, according to the source.
Russia seeks to protect its 200 military personnel and its fighter helicopters in the T-4 airbase in the Syrian desert.
Russia delivered the S-300 missile system to the Syrian regime early October, saying the move was in defiance of Israeli and U.S. concerns that the arms sale would embolden Iran and escalate the Syrian war.
The Russian intervention in Syria began in September 2015, after an official request by Bashar al-Assad for military aid against rebel and jihadist groups.
Zaman Al Wasl
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