Should Russia give Iran the advanced missile defense system it will undoubtedly effect the possibility of a military strike – but Israel’s air force is well trained in the system’s ins-and-outs.
It is hard to assess to what extent an Iranian-controlled S-300 will hinder the ability of Israel, the US or Arab states to attack Iranian nuclear and military facilities. Firstly, we don’t know exactly what make of the S-300 Russia plans to transfer to Iran or its effective range for ballistic missiles, rockets or cruise missiles fired from over 150 km.
Secondly, both the Israeli and the American air forces, as well as the American fleet, have trained in Cyprus, Greece and other places where Russian technology is available, and thus it is safe to assume they are well-versed in the system’s ins-and-outs. It is also safe to assume they have developed technological means to evade the system’s defense mechanisms.
Generally, the S-300 is in use in many countries and is even manufactured in China. The lengthy time between sale and delivery of the system to Iran gave the West ample time to prepare for its deployment in the Iranian context.
Therefore we can assume that its delivery to Iran will not dramatically hinder Israel’s – or any other state’s – ability to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, if only because contemporary deployment tactics were developed having taken the system into account.
doesnt the latest bunker buster require slow moving bombers?