Syria’s S-300 Air Defence Systems Fire Warning Shot at Israeli F-16s

Syrian S-300PMU-2 air defence systems reportedly fired a single surface to air missile on July 26 after a combat mission by Israeli Air Force F-16 fighters intruded into the country’s airspace. This marks only the second time S-300s have fired their missiles anywhere in the Middle East outside exercises, the first being a similar incident two months prior on May 13 also involving Israeli jets in Syria. The missiles from the air defence system were fired on ballistic trajectories, and were not locked onto any aircraft.

Syria was previously set to field S-300s from 2013, but Israeli pressure on Russia led Moscow to cancel the deal despite training for Syrian personnel having by then already begun. The Kremlin reversed its decision and delivered the systems in October 2019 after it blamed Israel for causing the loss of a Russian Air Force Il-20 aircraft and all its crew after Israeli F-16s allegedly used it as cover against fire from Syrian air defences. The S-300PMU-2 was for years manned by Russian personnel, however, and did not fire on enemy aircraft even during heated battles in early 2020 when Turkey made massive illegal incursions into Turkish airspace to provide air support to jihadist militants on the ground.

The S-300PMU-2 first entered service in 1997, and those in Syrian service were the last units ever exported. Having long since been phased out of production, they were taken from active Russian units which in turn received new more capable S-400 systems. The use of the system comes as Russia seeks to support the stabilising of Syrian security against Western, Turkish and Israeli threats, a notable prior signal of which was the beginning of joint exercises simulating the defence of Syrian airspace between Russian and Syrian fighter aircraft in January 2022. Integrated with a range of lower end air defence systems delivered by Russia in recent years, the S-300PMU-2 is the most capable air defence asset in Syrian service alongside its recently acquired MiG-29SMT fighters - which are thought to be armed with R-77-1 air to air missiles. The S-300PMU-2 is prized for its very long 250km engagement range, its access to multiple missile classes providing a multi layered network, and its high mobility and situational awareness which make it a particularly serious threat for Israeli and Turkish F-16 units. The F-16 first entered service in 1978, but is still the workhorse of both countries’ fleets, with Turkey having sought to modernise those in its service with new avionics, sensors and weaponry while Israel has begun to phase the class out of and retire multiple squadrons.