Satellite images said to show Syrian S-300 defense system becoming operational

An Israeli satellite imaging company says it has for the first time detected a suspected Syrian S-300 air defense system that appears on track to become operational, though some significant questions about the anti-aircraft battery remain.

Following the downing of a Russian spy plane by Syrian air defenses during an Israeli airstrike in September, Moscow announced it was providing the Syrian military with the advanced S-300 anti-aircraft system.

Since the system was delivered in October, Russia has been training Syrian forces how to operate the powerful air defense platform, reportedly at a base near Masyaf in northwestern Syria.

The satellite photography analysis firm ImageSat International reveals that three of the four launchers of the S-300 missile defense system at the Masyaf base have been raised. This is the first time the launchers are photographed in this position, though not necessarily the first time they have been raised.

“It is possible that the mentioned activity indicates [an] increase of the operational level and alertness,” the company says.

However, ImageSat notes that the precise meaning of this development is not clear from the images alone.

Notably, that one of the launchers remains down and covered by a camouflage net, while the rest are erect, is a “rare” situation that “raises question marks about the operational level of the whole battery,” the company says.

— Judah Ari Gross