They will most likely dash to take out any such missiles before they’re even set up, as they did in the T-4 strike in April 2018. This is likely because Russian military operators are Moscow also seems to have some say over how Damascus uses its other much older air defenses. Iran has completed the second phase of an air defense maneuver in the southeastern parts of the country. "I say confidently that this crushing response can be repeated and the enemy knows this," he said.The former head of a French intelligence service, who asked to remain anonymous, said that if the US airforce sends large numbers of aircraft over Iran, they should be prepared for some losses, because Iranian forces will be prepared.
The mysterious explosions have been going on for three weeks, claiming 21 lives as of Tuesday, according to The explosions have been unofficially attributed to Israeli cyberattacks and covert strikes by US and Israeli forces. "That said, in the case of the drone, it may not have had sufficient counter-measures -- to deceive, deflect or outmaneuvre the missile -- and the Americans thought that the Iranians would not dare" shoot it down, he told AFP.Dan Gettinger, co-director at the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, New York, said the Global Hawk is a large plane that flies slowly.The plane "is not a stealthy aircraft -- it's very large" with a wingspan of 40 metres, similar to a Boeing 737, Gettinger said.The drone's fate is "definitely going to be taken into account in future operations," Gettinger told AFP.He said the incident is also reminiscent of the time the Soviet Union shot down a U-2 spy plane in 1960.That event, targeting a piloted craft, "is a large part of the reason why the US started developing drones in the first place," Gettinger said.Experts however say that the latest incident does not mean Iran is capable of building a firewall against the airforce of the world's largest military, whose superior firepower and electronic warfare capabilities are overwhelming.At the end of 2015, just after Moscow agreed to sell the S-300 systems to Tehran, a move Israel tried in vain to prevent, the head of the Israeli Air Force General Amir Eshel said the missiles posed "a significant but not insurmountable challenge".Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at IISS, said Iran had shown it is capable of shooting down a large drone.But, he said, "this is a long way from being able to sustain air defence operations in the face of a significant attack involving missile strikes and counter-measures to degrade its air defences. They are seen as posing a serious threat.The Islamic Republic has also developed Iranian versions of these missile systems, including the Bavar 373, SAM Tabas and SAM Raad which are regularly displayed at military parades.The Revolutionary Guards claim that they shot down the US drone with a Khordad 3 missile, a version of the SAM Raad.Senior Iranian officials and military officers have welcomed the strike and warned against a possible US retaliation. Israeli airstrikes have already killed several IRGC troops in Syria in recent years as part of Israel’s broader goal of preventing Iran from establishing a permanent military presence in Syria and transferring If Israel would immediately scramble to prevent the IRGC from establishing a short-range Tor missile system to defend against attacks on T-4, then it would undoubtedly go to even greater lengths to prevent Iran from supplying Damascus with more formidable air defenses that could target its warplanes.Iran received S-300s from Russia in 2016. Assad has vowed several times to improve Syria’s air defenses to counter Israeli airstrikes and deter U.S. overflights over the years. Article . The change, however, is reportedly not part of a training exercise, but a response to a series of unexplained blasts.First reported in late June, a series of explosions on Iranian nuclear sites and strategic infrastructure have rocked the Islamic Republic. "US intelligence "have seen and observed those explosions in Iran," McKenzie continued.
Copyright © 2020 Jpost Inc. All rights reserved … The agreement “will improve the determination of the two nations to confront U.S. pressures,” Bagheri After almost a decade of civil war, Syria’s already antiquated air defenses have been severely weakened and proven ineffective against Israeli airstrikes and unwelcome incursions into Syrian airspace by other foreign air forces. Michel Moutot, AFP • June 25, 2019. Dubai (AFP) - The shooting down last week of a sophisticated US drone by an Iranian missile demonstrates that Tehran's air defence capabilities can pose a challenge to US air superiority, experts say.The Global Hawk, an advanced US navy surveillance drone, was flying at high altitude -- it can reach 60,000 feet (18 kilometres) -- early Friday local time when it was struck by a ground-to-air missile by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. A Russian-made, S-300 missile system is driven in front of officials during a military parade earlier this year.