link

You'll need to copy and paste into your browser bar, and delete the first character. One day someone will teach me how to link on this site. Until then, delete the F.

If the report is true I can't imagine for what price the Russians would sell a battery for - they've only just begun to arm themselves with the system. Something is changing in the way Russia engages in the region militarily. The Russians are openly operating (crewing) S-300 batteries in Syria since the Israeli attack on the alleged nuclear site.

 

DS, if you're referring to this part, "Iran is close to acquiring long-range SA-20 SAMs,...." you need to know that SA-20 is the S-300PMU-1 and the S-300PMU-2, not the S-400.  Furthermore, as I think you know, Iran has been "close" to acquiring SA-20 for the last 10+ years, and they are not particularly any closer today than 10 years ago.  Of course, they very likely eventually will get some, and that could happen new week just as likely as next decade, but not yet.

 

I'd love to see source one for your claim that Russians are manning Syrian SAMs or Syrian anything else.  It's not impossible, as Russians used to man equipment in the middle east back during the USSR days, but it would be the first time in a couple decades.

 

 

Uh, yeah, sorry, I am a little rusty with the NATO designations - strange how they were replaced with the Russian ones over the years.  I imagine the S-400 corresponds to the SA-21.  I guess I read that and said to myself  "I don't believe it."    Right.

 

I will hunt down a source on the Russians in Syria.  I was surprised to see the recent public reports of S-300s in Syria at all.  I would point out that there is a revived Russian military presence in Syria and some might say it was "all of a sudden."  It wasn't that long ago that a big stink was raised about Iglas in Syria, and then the alleged Pantsyrs.  Now there are S-300s.  SO, either Syria has had them for some time, Syria was training crews in Russia for at least a year in advance, or Syria is getting some help with the system while they solidify their proficiency. 

 

I found this one fairly quickly, and this particular reporter does have proven contacts in the region.  It's getting late, but later I'll look a little more thoroughly and triangulate this with more military-intel specific sources.

Well, that's certainly a very interesting rumor.  We need some confirmation of where this system or systems are deployed.  It still would be very unusual for Russians to be manning Syrian SAMs.