WHY ISRAEL SHOULD FEAR RUSSIAN S 300 IN SYRIA?

In past we have seen this tactic being applied successfully when in April 1986, SR-71 blackbird outran SA2 Surface to Air Missile over Libya.

But in this case, the tactics will be useless since Israel’s F 35 has a top speed of only Mach 1.6, whereas F 16s have a top speed of Mach 2 and missiles deployed by S 300 have much higher speeds, some even being hypersonic.




For example, 9M96E2 missile has a speed of Mach 14.




OUT MANEUVER




The missiles deployed by S 300, like 40N6 and 9M96E1 are not only guided by the system but also have Active radar homing (ARH) capabilities.

These missiles contain a radar transceiver and the electronics necessary for it to find and track its target autonomously on their own.




So these missiles are guided to the target by radars of S 300 in the initial stage but when they reach near, they can maneuver on their own.

STEALTH

Israel’s F 16s are non-stealthy fighter and S 300 has multiple powerful radars operating in different bands. So, S 300 is not expected to have any difficulty in detecting and targeting F 16 fighters.




Israel’s F 35’s will be trump card here as it’s a 5th generation stealthy aircraft.

In December 2017, Israel declared that it first squadron of F-35s is operational. The Israeli Air Force's 140 Golden Eagle Squadron has 9 F-35I fighters. 


It’s a complex call if Israel will like to deploy its newest fighter in a risky environment like this or not, but even if it decides so, the situation will not be easy.

It is much greater reliance on radar-absorbing materials.
Overall F 35 is much easier to detect when compared to F 22 Raptor.

It also must be noted that, wherever the weapon bays are opened, the stealth profile is greatly compromised.

Apart from traditional radars, S 300 can be integrated with radars that are capable of detecting stealthy aircraft. It is not clear if Russia is deploying that kind of advanced radar in Syrian theater.




ELECTRONIC WARFARE

Israel’s air force F 16 and especially F 35 have highly capable Electronic Warfare (EW) suits that can initiate network attack and radar jamming to suppress enemy air defenses.




But S 300 has many features specifically designed to overcome these countermeasures. For example, the very powerful radar is resistant to jamming due to its ability to change frequency of its signals very rapidly.




STANDOFF STRIKE




Israel has several missiles that can be used from long range. Popeye and Delilah have range of around 250 km and can be launched from air as well as sea making them versatile.

But successful standoff preemptive strike against S 300 is not a easy task to accomplish.

S 300 is designed to be mobile.
Self-propelled wheeled all-terrain chassis carries all system components. This means that the system can be in different position at different times making a pre planned strike difficult.


Even if detected, S 300 will be a very tough nut to crack.

The long-range surveillance radar tracks objects over a range of 300 km.
The engagement radar which is responsible for guiding the missiles towards the target is a very capable one. It can guide up to 12 missiles simultaneously, engaging up to 6 targets at once.