Israel Tense About Russia’s Advanced Missile System Sold To Iran
Israel is keeping a wary eye on Iran following its testing of the advanced Russian S-300 missile-defense system. According to Abraham Assael of Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies in Herzliya, the system poses a great threat to Israel as it wasn’t there before. Although it lacks the capability to take down fifth generation fighter jets such as the F-35, the S-300 is said to be extremely good at taking out third and fourth generation fighter planes, which make up the majority of the Israeli fleet. The following are details about the system, and its capabilities as reported by Sputnik.
#Russia to deploy Buk missiles and more S-400 aircraft #missile systems in occupied #Crimea https://t.co/Jmo8f9E1Pc#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/4C0yP3yhMA
— Ua Position ?? (@UaPosition) February 27, 2017
“The system is capable of hitting even the smallest aerial objects as well as cruise missiles, making it lethal for any potential enemy, he added, noting that the S-300 will now ensure Iran’s secure air defenses alongside Iran’s short-range Mersad and long-range Talaash air defense systems.
Iran’s Homegrown Bavar Ground-to-Air Missile System Still Lags Behind S-300. Iranian experts conducted a number of tests of the Russian missile systems. The tests included all phases, namely, detection, identification, interception and target shooting.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to discuss issues involving Iran’s presence in Syria, which is causing tensions with Israel. Presently, Russia is developing a super-weapon that will enable it to take out satellites in space. Dubbed the Nudol direct ascent anti-satellite missile, very little information about it is available in the public domain. The following is an excerpt from National Interest, offering details about it.
Successfully test fired an interceptor #missile,validating reliability of its two layered Ballistic Missile Defence. pic.twitter.com/ZDbWjeAG8U
— Adv Ravi Mishra Shastri ??? (@ravi4nation) March 1, 2017
“The weapon was apparently launched from the Plesetsk test launch facility north of Moscow… However, if the report is correct, that means the Russians have developed a means to attack the space-based navigation, communications and intelligence gathering tools that are the sinews of U.S. military operations.
It should come as no surprise that Moscow has embarked on the development of such a weapon. Attacking America’s space-based assets would be an effective means to disrupt U.S. military operations, which is a fact not lost on the Kremlin—or on the People’s Republic of China. Indeed, Beijing has previously tested such weapons—most notably in 2007 when it destroyed a satellite in orbit.
Washington, too, has shot down a satellite that was in a decaying orbit in 2008 using the U.S. Navy’s Aegis system. However, the United States has been vocal in calling on other nations to desist from such activities. Indeed, many space experts warn that the debris from such tests pose an extreme hazard, not just to military satellites but all space activity. Even small fragments can severely damage a spacecraft given the extreme velocities involved.”
#Japan May Have Tested its New XASM-3 #Supersonic Anti-Ship #Missile for the First Time https://t.co/mzrXkDe0Mt pic.twitter.com/nSXtnerYOZ
— Navy Recognition (@NavyRecognition) March 4, 2017
The S-500 is said to be one of the most formidable air defense systems ever to have been built by the Russians. It is able to engage targets, in particular, ballistic missiles at 660,000 feet. It also has the ability to simultaneously intercept up to 10 ballistic missile warheads. The S-500 apparently has a hit-to-kill set-up similar to Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and is designed to be mobile.
Another, but more futuristic weapon being developed by Russia is one that uses electronic beams that can disrupt the functionality of fighter jets without having to fire weapons. According to the Daily Star, “The futuristic energy cannon, which sits mounted on a truck, uses signals to disrupt instruments on planes, drones, and missiles.”
Russia’s United Instrument Manufacturing company offered the following statement in relation to the weapon.
“It conducts indirect physical impact on the on-board equipment of aircraft or drones and neutralizes precision-guided weapons. Real prototypes of such weapons have already been created and they have proven their efficiency.”
[Featured Image by Dmitry Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images]
