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Pour protéger ses cieux contre les avions Israéliens, l'Iran a reçu le 5 Aout le système de défense anti aérienne S 400 Russe et d'autres systèmes de guerre électronique
Russia Risks Reputation Of Its Weapons Systems With Iran Air Defense Delivery
Russia has reportedly begun delivering radars and air defense equipment to the Islamic Republic of Iran amidst Tehran’s tense standoff with Israel. The move could potentially risk exposing additional vulnerabilities and weaknesses in advanced Russian systems, especially since Israel has already demonstrated its capability to target Russian air defenses in Iran.
Iranian officials requested the equipment and Russia has already begun delivery, The New York Times reported on Monday. The Times report cited two anonymous Iranian officials, one of whom is a member of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps paramilitary.
The report did not specify the exact type of equipment Russia is delivering. Iran is interested in acquiring the long-range, strategic S-400 Triumf air defense missile system. Tehran acquired advanced S-300PMU-2 systems from Moscow in 2016 and also operates short and medium-range Russian Buk and Tor systems.
Iran is also pressing Russia to fulfill its delivery of Su-35 Flanker air superiority fighters Tehran had ordered in 2021, according to two senior Iranian sources cited by Reuters on Tuesday. Iran expects at least two dozen jets. Prior reports of their imminent delivery have proven premature or outright false.
Any imminent or ongoing delivery of advanced Russian military hardware to Iran now could prove risky for Moscow. Iran has vowed to attack Israel since the July 31 assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Any Iranian attack will likely incur an Israeli response and possibly the targeting of advanced Iranian military hardware, including Russian-built systems.
Such a scenario is not merely hypothetical. When Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile barrage against Israel in April, Israel responded by destroying the radar of an Iranian S-300PMU-2 in the central Isfahan region near Iran’s main enrichment facility at Natanz.
(Incidentally, the radars Russia is delivering could include a repaired or replacement 30N6E2 “Tombstone” radar for the one damaged or destroyed in that Israeli strike.)
Israel trained for striking S-300s for over a decade before the Isfahan strike. Its air force trained against Greece’s S-300PMU-1 based on the island of Crete in 2013, gaining valuable insights about its capabilities and potential vulnerabilities it could one day exploit against a Syrian or Iranian system.
That same year, Israel opposed Russia delivering an S-300 to Damascus, even hinting it would preemptively destroy any Syrian S-300 before it became operational.
Russia did deliver an S-300 to Syria under different circumstances in 2018 but, crucially, never fully transferred it to the Syrian military. In effect, this meant Syria hadn’t permission to use the strategic system—which remained firmly under the command and control of Russian military personnel—in the face of hundreds of Israeli airstrikes in the country. The “Syrian” S-300 was fired off once in 2022 and unceremoniously withdrawn from the country shortly after that, clearly demonstrating Syria never truly owned nor controlled it.
One primary reason Russia probably did not want Syria using it, aside from wanting to avoid any war between Israel and Syria, was out of fear it would miss its targets or even face destruction. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in 2019 that Saudi Arabia buy Russian S-300 or S-400 systems, as Iran and Turkey did, rather than Western systems to defend its infrastructure, which had come under an unprecedented drone attack.
Those were the days before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Ukraine attacks have destroyed many high-end Russian systems, including S-400s in Crimea. The publicized destruction of the most sophisticated Russian equipment in Ukraine is one reason interest in Moscow’s military hardware on the global arms export market has further declined since 2022.
Delivering advanced armaments to Iran in the middle of a standoff with Israel could produce similarly negative results for Russia if there is a significant escalation. Putin probably doesn’t want that outcome, at least partially because it might impede the supply of Iranian drones and other equipment to his military. He has urged Tehran to avoid targeting Israeli civilians in any attack, undoubtedly cognizant that would increase the likelihood of escalation or even all-out war.
While it remains unclear what exactly Russia is delivering at present, it’s unlikely something that will enable Iran to substantially sharpen its defenses—such as an S-400 or a squadron of Su-35s—in short order. Nevertheless, even if it is delivering advanced components for future or existing Iranian systems, Israel might still opt to destroy or sabotage these while they are still in storage. Such a move could simultaneously hinder Iran from modernizing its armed forces and signal Israel’s staunch opposition to Moscow supplying advanced weaponry to Tehran.
All these factors indicate that Russia is once again risking the reputation of its indigenous arms industry, battered as it already is from Ukraine. In this case, its willingness to do so may highlight how dependent upon Iranian goodwill it has become in the last two and a half years.
Source: Forbes
Russia Risks Reputation Of Its Weapons Systems With Iran Air Defense Delivery
Russia has reportedly begun delivering radars and air defense equipment to the Islamic Republic of Iran amidst Tehran’s tense standoff with Israel. The move could potentially risk exposing additional vulnerabilities and weaknesses in advanced Russian systems, especially since Israel has already demonstrated its capability to target Russian air defenses in Iran.
Iranian officials requested the equipment and Russia has already begun delivery, The New York Times reported on Monday. The Times report cited two anonymous Iranian officials, one of whom is a member of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps paramilitary.
The report did not specify the exact type of equipment Russia is delivering. Iran is interested in acquiring the long-range, strategic S-400 Triumf air defense missile system. Tehran acquired advanced S-300PMU-2 systems from Moscow in 2016 and also operates short and medium-range Russian Buk and Tor systems.
Iran is also pressing Russia to fulfill its delivery of Su-35 Flanker air superiority fighters Tehran had ordered in 2021, according to two senior Iranian sources cited by Reuters on Tuesday. Iran expects at least two dozen jets. Prior reports of their imminent delivery have proven premature or outright false.
Any imminent or ongoing delivery of advanced Russian military hardware to Iran now could prove risky for Moscow. Iran has vowed to attack Israel since the July 31 assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Any Iranian attack will likely incur an Israeli response and possibly the targeting of advanced Iranian military hardware, including Russian-built systems.
Such a scenario is not merely hypothetical. When Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile barrage against Israel in April, Israel responded by destroying the radar of an Iranian S-300PMU-2 in the central Isfahan region near Iran’s main enrichment facility at Natanz.
(Incidentally, the radars Russia is delivering could include a repaired or replacement 30N6E2 “Tombstone” radar for the one damaged or destroyed in that Israeli strike.)
Israel trained for striking S-300s for over a decade before the Isfahan strike. Its air force trained against Greece’s S-300PMU-1 based on the island of Crete in 2013, gaining valuable insights about its capabilities and potential vulnerabilities it could one day exploit against a Syrian or Iranian system.
That same year, Israel opposed Russia delivering an S-300 to Damascus, even hinting it would preemptively destroy any Syrian S-300 before it became operational.
Russia did deliver an S-300 to Syria under different circumstances in 2018 but, crucially, never fully transferred it to the Syrian military. In effect, this meant Syria hadn’t permission to use the strategic system—which remained firmly under the command and control of Russian military personnel—in the face of hundreds of Israeli airstrikes in the country. The “Syrian” S-300 was fired off once in 2022 and unceremoniously withdrawn from the country shortly after that, clearly demonstrating Syria never truly owned nor controlled it.
One primary reason Russia probably did not want Syria using it, aside from wanting to avoid any war between Israel and Syria, was out of fear it would miss its targets or even face destruction. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in 2019 that Saudi Arabia buy Russian S-300 or S-400 systems, as Iran and Turkey did, rather than Western systems to defend its infrastructure, which had come under an unprecedented drone attack.
Those were the days before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Ukraine attacks have destroyed many high-end Russian systems, including S-400s in Crimea. The publicized destruction of the most sophisticated Russian equipment in Ukraine is one reason interest in Moscow’s military hardware on the global arms export market has further declined since 2022.
Delivering advanced armaments to Iran in the middle of a standoff with Israel could produce similarly negative results for Russia if there is a significant escalation. Putin probably doesn’t want that outcome, at least partially because it might impede the supply of Iranian drones and other equipment to his military. He has urged Tehran to avoid targeting Israeli civilians in any attack, undoubtedly cognizant that would increase the likelihood of escalation or even all-out war.
While it remains unclear what exactly Russia is delivering at present, it’s unlikely something that will enable Iran to substantially sharpen its defenses—such as an S-400 or a squadron of Su-35s—in short order. Nevertheless, even if it is delivering advanced components for future or existing Iranian systems, Israel might still opt to destroy or sabotage these while they are still in storage. Such a move could simultaneously hinder Iran from modernizing its armed forces and signal Israel’s staunch opposition to Moscow supplying advanced weaponry to Tehran.
All these factors indicate that Russia is once again risking the reputation of its indigenous arms industry, battered as it already is from Ukraine. In this case, its willingness to do so may highlight how dependent upon Iranian goodwill it has become in the last two and a half years.
Source: Forbes
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