Missiles, Radar & ☢ Nuclear Weapons.

[TsarSamuil]

Second round of Patriots expected imminently.

Thenews.pl
24.06.2010 09:17

The first contingent of American troops and patriot missiles stationed in northern Poland have returned to base in Germany, with the second round scheduled to be in the country in late June or early July, says a Defence Ministry spokesman.

One hundred US troops, six Patriot missiles and around 40 military vehicles were officially welcomed in Poland on May 26 in the town of Morag for training purposes.

The first round of the air defence system and accompanying US troops have now returned to base in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Defence Ministry spokesman Robert Rochowicz has informed the PAP news agency. Further training of Polish troops stationed at the base in northern Poland will resume in the coming days when a second battery of missiles arrives.

Poland's decision to deploy a battery of U.S. Patriot missiles just 100 kilometres from the Russian Kaliningrad border raised tension with the Kremlin in Moscow, which sees it as a an unnecessary act of provocation. Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said earlier this year that the town of Morag was not chosen for political reasons but "only reason was the good infrastructure there." (pg)

[TsarSamuil]

Russian military set to continue Bulava missile tests.

A state investigation commission has recommended the continuation of tests on the troubled Bulava ballistic missile following a probe into the most recent test failure, a first deputy defense minister said on Wednesday.

Only 5 of the 12 Bulava launches have been officially reported as successful and late last month the commission sent the government the results of its investigation into the latest failure: a launch from the Dmitry Donskoy cruiser in the White Sea in early December 2009.

"The state commission, which had been set up to investigate the failed launches of the Bulava, completed its work in June and concluded that the tests should continue," Vladimir Popovkin said at the international Engineering Technologies-2010 forum.

The Russian Navy is planning to resume the Bulava tests as early as November this year.

The Bulava (SS-NX-30) is a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). It carries up to 10 MIRV warheads and has a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles).

The future development of Bulava has been questioned by some lawmakers and defense industry officials who suggest that the Russian Navy should keep using the more reliable Sineva SLBM.

Russia hopes the Bulava will be a key element of its nuclear forces. The missile has been specifically designed for Russia's new Borey class nuclear submarines, the first of which, the Yury Dolgoruky, is currently undergoing sea trials.

ZHUKOVSKY, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

Key US Radar to Come to Bulgaria or Turkey.

By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 1, 2010

The U.S. military is on the verge of activating a partial missile shield over southern Europe, part of an intensifying global effort to build defenses against Iranian missiles amid a deepening impasse over the country's nuclear ambitions.

Pentagon officials said they are nearing a deal to establish a key radar ground station, probably in Turkey or Bulgaria. Installation of the high-powered X-band radar would enable the first phase of the shield to become operational next year.

At the same time, the U.S. military is working with Israel and allies in the Persian Gulf to build and upgrade their missile defense capabilities. The United States installed a radar ground station in Israel in 2008 and is looking to place another in an Arab country in the gulf region. The radars would provide a critical early warning of any launches from Iran, improving the odds of shooting down a missile.

The missile defenses in Europe, Israel and the gulf are technically separate and in different stages of development. But they are all designed to plug into command-and-control systems operated by, or with, the U.S. military. The Israeli radar, for example, is operated by U.S. personnel and is already functional, feeding information to U.S. Navy ships operating in the Mediterranean.

Taken together, these initiatives constitute an attempt to contain Iran and negate its growing ability to aim missiles -- perhaps one day armed with a nuclear warhead -- at targets throughout the Middle East and Europe, including U.S. forces stationed there.

The concept of a missile shield began with former president Ronald Reagan, who first described his vision of a defense against a Soviet nuclear attack in his "Star Wars" speech in 1983. Its development accelerated during the George W. Bush administration, which saw missile defense as a way to deter emerging nuclear powers in Iran and North Korea.

It has expanded further under President Obama, despite the skepticism he expressed during the 2008 campaign about the feasibility and affordability of Bush's plan for a shield in Europe.

In September, Obama announced that he was changing Bush's approach. Instead of abandoning the idea, he directed the Pentagon to construct a far more extensive and flexible missile defense system in Europe that will be built in phases between now and 2020.

The missile defense plan for Europe has factored into the Senate's debate over a new U.S.-Russia arms reduction treaty that would place fresh limits on the two countries' nuclear arsenals. Russia has strongly opposed the European shield, and some Republican lawmakers have charged that the treaty could constrain the project. Obama administration officials have dismissed the concerns.

Ships add mobility

Since last year, the Navy has been deploying Aegis-class destroyers and cruisers equipped with ballistic missile defense systems to patrol the Mediterranean Sea. The ships, featuring octagonal Spy-1 radars and arsenals of Standard Missile-3 interceptors, will form the backbone of Obama's shield in Europe.

Unlike fixed ground-based interceptors, which were the mainstay of the Bush missile defense plan for Europe, Aegis ships are mobile and can easily move to areas considered most at risk of attack.

Another advantage is that Aegis ships can still be used for other missions, such as hunting pirates or submarines, instead of waiting for a missile attack that may never materialize.

"It's very easily absorbed," Capt. Mark Young, commanding officer of the Vella Gulf, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser now deployed to the Mediterranean, said of his ship's new missile defense role. "We're very capable, and we'll find a way to advance the mission."

"The system has to be able to operate to its utmost," Young said in an interview in the Vella Gulf wardroom as the ship left the East Coast. "We've told our junior guys, 'This is not just another Aegis ship. It's a BMD platform.' There's no margin for error."

Navy commanders said they have just one or two Aegis ships patrolling the eastern Mediterranean at a time. Pentagon officials said those numbers could eventually triple, with three on deployment and three more as relief ships, depending on the perceived threat from Iran.

The numbers may sound small, but lawmakers are concerned that the demand for Aegis ships worldwide could strain the Navy.

In addition to Europe, the U.S. Central Command in the Middle East and the U.S. Pacific Command require Aegis ships for ballistic missile defense against potential threats from Iran and North Korea. Only about half the Navy's Aegis fleet is available at any given time; after deployment at sea, ships generally spend an equivalent period at their home ports so their crews can prepare for the next mission.

As a result, the Obama administration has plans to nearly double its number of Aegis ships with ballistic missile defenses, to 38 by 2015.

Vice Adm. Henry B. Harris Jr., commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet, based in Naples, Italy, said an option would be to assign some Aegis ships to home ports in Europe instead of making them sail constantly back and forth to the United States.

"It's certainly something that's on the table," Harris told reporters in June. Other Navy officials have floated the idea of flying in fresh crews so a ship could more or less deploy continuously, obviating the need for long breaks.

Iranian 'salvo' threat

U.S. military officials and analysts say it's easy to dream up a nightmare scenario over the future of Iran's nuclear program, which Western powers fear is aimed at the development of a nuclear weapon and which Iran insists is entirely peaceful. In an attempt to disable the program, Israel launches a pre-emptive attack. The Iranians retaliate with a wave of conventional missiles, not just against Israel, but also U.S. forces stationed in Europe and the Middle East.

"If Iran were actually to launch a missile attack on Europe, it wouldn't be just one or two missiles, or a handful," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said at a congressional hearing in June. "It would more likely be a salvo kind of attack, where you would be dealing potentially with scores or even hundreds of missiles."

Such an attack could have "rapidly overwhelmed" the Bush missile defense shield for Europe, Army Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O'Reilly, director of the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency, said in an interview.

The Bush plan would have consisted of only 10 ground-based interceptors in Poland and a large radar installation in the Czech Republic. It was designed to shoot down long-range or even intercontinental ballistic missiles fired by Iran against Europe or the United States.

Subsequent U.S. intelligence assessments concluded that Iran's efforts to build a long-range missile were moving slowly. Today, military officials estimate it would take Iran until 2015 at the earliest, and only with the assistance of another country, to deploy an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States. Even then, military officials said, Iran would probably need much more time to build a reliable arsenal of ICBMs, which can be highly inaccurate in the early stages of development.

In contrast, Iran already has a large inventory of missiles with a range of up to 1,200 miles -- putting southeastern Europe at risk. And it is pushing hard to reach other parts of the continent.

In response, Obama announced in September that the Pentagon would scrap Bush's system for Europe and replace it with what he called a "phased, adaptive approach." The first phase officially becomes operational next year. Aegis ships, armed with dozens of SM-3 missile interceptors, will patrol the Mediterranean and Black seas and link up with the high-power radar planned for southern Europe.

In 2015, the next phase will begin. Romania has agreed to host a land-based Aegis combat system on its territory.

In 2018, the system will expand further with another land-based Aegis system in Poland, as well as a new generation of SM-3 interceptors and additional sensors. The shield is scheduled to become complete by 2020, with the addition of even more advanced SM-3s.

Until last year, the Pentagon had thought an arsenal of 147 SM-3s would be sufficient for its missile defenses worldwide. Now, the Obama administration is looking to nearly triple that number, to 436, by 2015.

U.S. foots most of bill

The Pentagon says the purpose of the European missile defense system is threefold: to protect Europe, to protect U.S. forces stationed there and to deter Iran from further development of its missile program.

It "will help us more effectively defend the country, more effectively defend our forces in Europe, and with our allies more effectively defend both their forces and populations and ultimately their territory of Europe as the system expands," said James N. Miller, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.

It is a good deal for Europe, which is largely getting the protection for free. NATO allies, however, may eventually plug their own, more limited missile defense systems into the overall shield.

The Pentagon says countries that are providing territory for radar and ground interceptors will probably make financial contributions as negotiations are finalized. But otherwise, U.S. taxpayers will be footing the bill. U.S. defense officials said it is difficult to provide an overall estimate on what it will cost to build and operate the European shield, given that the Aegis ships and other components either already exist or were going to be built anyway by the U.S. military. The system will require an unspecified number of new SM-3 missiles, which cost between $10 million and $15 million apiece.

In November, during a summit in Lisbon, NATO members will vote on whether to make territorial missile defense part of the alliance's overall mission.

If that happens, allies will eventually connect their localized missile defense systems -- mainly Patriot missiles and other ground-based interceptors -- to the larger framework. The United States and NATO would also have to sort out a unified command-and-control system, which could take years, officials said.

O'Reilly said combined defenses would feature the best of both worlds: an "upper layer" framework of SM-3 and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors, operated by the United States, that could shoot down enemy missiles in space or the upper atmosphere; and a "lower layer" of Patriot batteries, operated by European allies, providing a second layer of defense closer to the ground.

"If you have more than one opportunity to shoot at a missile," O'Reilly said, "you get very high levels of probability of success."

[TsarSamuil]

Czech early warning facility to be part of NATO defense - PM Necas.

An early warning center on Czech soil will be part of NATO missile defense, Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said on Saturday.

According to CTK, he said the facility, which was currently being discussed by the Czech Republic and the United States, would be probably operated by Czechs and would not require a new U.S.-Czech treaty.

He said Washington has proposed investing $2 million in the project in 2011 and 2012.

The facility will gather information from satellites, helping detect flying missiles targeting NATO territory, Necas said.

He stressed that it would not be a base or a strictly military facility but rather a technical and administrative center to be operated by a handful of people.

Czech daily Hospodarske noviny reported on Saturday that the Pentagon has asked the U.S. Congress for funding to establish an early warning center.

In the past, Washington had plans to build a missile radar near Prague.

The plans were scrapped by the Barack Obama administration last fall, and discussions focused on a NATO missile defense system in Europe.

Russia has fiercely opposed the U.S. missile defense plans as a threat to its national security.

PRAGUE, July 31 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

Russia to resume test launches of troubled Bulava missile Aug. 9-12 (update 1).

Test launches of Russia's ill-fated Bulava ballistic missile will resume between August 9 and 12, a defense industry source said on Thursday.

"Preparations for the next test launch have been made. If the launch is a success, tests will be conducted more often," the source said, adding that at least three launches would be conducted before the end of the year.

A source close to the government commission probing the incident said last Friday the failure of the Bulava's latest test launch, from the Dmitry Donskoy nuclear submarine in the White Sea on December 9, 2009, was caused by a defective engine nozzle.

After this, all further Bulava test launches were put on hold pending the results of a government investigation.

The source said it was not a design but a manufacturing fault.

"It was simply that the missile wasn't built right," he said.

The Bulava (SS-NX-30), a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), has officially suffered seven failures in 12 tests.

Some analysts suggest that in reality the number of failures is considerably larger. Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer says only one of the 12 launches has been an outright success.

The future development of the Bulava has been questioned by several lawmakers and defense industry officials, who suggest that all efforts should be focused on the existing Sineva SLBM.

However, that would require major changes to the Borey-class submarines. The Russian military has insisted that there is no alternative to the Bulava and pledged to continue testing the missile until it is ready to be put into service with the Navy.

MOSCOW, July 29 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

Russia denies selling S-300 missilesThere is no truth to reports that Russia has agreed to deliver S-300 air defense systems to Azerbaijan, Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Thursday.

"There is no contract between Russia and Azerbaijan on the delivery of S-300 air defense systems to this country," a Rosoboronexport spokesman said.

Russian business daily Vedomosti said earlier on Thursday that Rosoboronexport signed an agreement with the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on the delivery of two S-300PMU-2 Favorit (SA-20b Gargoyle b) battalions last year, citing a top manager at a company producing S-300 components.

Rosoboronexport official Vyacheslav Davydenko denied the report, while a spokesman for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he had no information on any sale.

Vedomosti said the contract was worth $300 million, which would have made it the biggest single purchase of weapons by an ex-Soviet state. Russia has previously sold S-300 missiles to Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Outside the post-Soviet space, Russia has delivered S-300 air defense systems to Algeria and China. In December 2005, Russia signed a contract on the delivery of at least five S-300 systems to Iran, but delivery has so far been delayed. In June, Russia said it would freeze the delivery due to a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

The advanced version of the S-300 missile system, called S-300PMU1, has a range of over 150 kilometers (over 100 miles) and can intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft at low and high altitudes, making it effective in warding off air strikes.

MOSCOW, July 29 (RIA Novosti) to Azerbaijan (Update 1).

[TsarSamuil]

The Russian-Indian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
17:23 15/07/2010

The BrahMos anti-ship missile was jointly developed by Russia’s Engineering Research and Production Association (NPO) and the Indian Defense Ministry’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

[TsarSamuil]

Russia denies working on missile defense deal with U.S.

Neither the Russian Defense Ministry nor the General Staff is drafting a new missile defense pact with the United States, a senior military official said on Thursday.

Some Russian media outlets reported that the Defense Ministry and the Foreign Ministry were working on a Russian-U.S. missile defense agreement.

Lt. Gen. Alexander Burutin, first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said a missile defense document was "not on our agenda" because not even the outline of a new deal has been defined.

"Missile defense is a subject for discussion with the Americans. We will watch their comments and we will cooperate with them on regional missile defense," he said after a meeting of the State Duma Defense Committee.

The committee advised earlier in the day the lower house of the Russian parliament to ratify the new strategic arms reduction deal with the U.S.

It was not immediately clear whether Burutin was referring to a new treaty to replace the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty on the limitation of ABM systems. Signed in 1972, it was in force for the next thirty years until the United States unilaterally withdrew from it in June 2002.

Sergei Rogov, director of the Institute for North American Studies, earlier said Russia and the United States had failed to reach a separate missile defense deal.

"It will not be possible to sign such a document and that task was not part of the new strategic arms reduction treaty," he said.

The treaty was signed on April 8 in Prague, replacing the START 1 treaty that expired in December 2009. The document was submitted to the U.S. Senate on May 13 and to the State Duma on May 28. The Russian and U.S. presidents have agreed that the ratification processes should be simultaneous.

The new pact stipulates that the number of nuclear warheads is to be reduced to 1,550 on each side, while the number of deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles must not exceed 800 on either side.

Moscow has been concerned by U.S. plans to build a missile shield in Central Europe. Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday there are no threats for Europe that would justify the deployment of a missile defense system near Russian borders.

On July 3 in Krakow, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski witnessed the signing of a protocol amending a Bush-era deal between the United States and Poland on the deployment of elements of a missile shield in Poland.

Poland will now host a temporary U.S. military base neat the Polish town of Morag, just 80 km (50 miles) from the Russian border. U.S. troops will be deployed to train Polish forces at the site until 2012, when the base is expected to become permanent.

Moscow has said it "does not understand the logic" behind the decision to open the base and has expressed concern over its proximity to Russia.

The United States is also in talks with Bulgaria and Romania on deploying elements of a missile shield on their territories from 2015.

MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

Manufacturing violations cause of Bulava tests failures - Navy commander (Update 1)

Manufacturing violations have been the cause of the failures of Russia's ill-fated Bulava ballistic missile tests, Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said on Saturday.

"The cause lies in the original violation of manufacturing procedures of the expensive [Bulava] missile system," Vysotsky told the Ekho Moskvy radio station.

"If we start by arranging our work incorrectly, we end up with big problems," he said.

The failure of the Bulava's latest test launch from the Dmitry Donskoy nuclear submarine in the White Sea on December 9, 2009, was caused by a defective engine nozzle, a source close to a government commission probing the incident told RIA Novosti on Friday.

Since then, all further Bulava test launches were put on hold pending the results of the probe.

The source said the missile "simply wasn't built right" and that it was not a design but manufacturing fault.

Nevertheless, considerable headway has been made over the past two years, Vysotsky said.

"There is a chance that the work [on the missile system] will be finished by the end of the year," he said.

Further Bulava test launches will resume in late August or September, he added.

The Bulava (SS-NX-30), a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), has officially suffered seven failures in 12 tests. Some analysts suggest that in reality the number of failures was considerably larger, with Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer contending that of the Bulava's 12 test launches, only one was entirely successful.

The future development of the Bulava has been questioned by some lawmakers and defense industry officials, who have suggested that all efforts should be focused on the existing Sineva SLBM.

However, that would require major changes to the Borey-class submarines and the Russian military has insisted that there is no alternative to the Bulava and pledged to continue testing the missile until it is ready to be put into service with the Navy.

MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

Russia in talks on Iskander missile export (update 1)

Russia is in talks with foreign customers interested in buying Iskander tactical missile systems, a senior executive at state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday.

Deputy General Director Alexander Mikheyev said it was too soon to identify the customers or countries in question.

"Rosoboronexport is marketing the Iskander, but no contracts have been signed yet," he said.

The Iskander-E (SS-26 Stone), an export version of the Iskander-M missile system in service with the Russian military, is a theater ballistic missile system designed to effectively engage a variety of targets at a range of up to 280 km (170 miles). It carries a single warhead with a payload of 400 kg to comply with the limits laid down by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

On Saturday, the chief of Russia's Ground Forces, Col. Gen. Alexander Postnikov, said Iskander missiles had been put into operation in the Leningrad Military District.

The report aroused concern among Russia's western neighbors. In particular, Estonian Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said the deployment was "incomprehensible in view of Russia's current relations with NATO."

The United States has scrapped its plans for a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Moscow welcomed the move, and President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia would drop plans to deploy Iskander-M missiles in its Kaliningrad Region, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

However, Washington has not given up on its European missile shield initiative. In May, the United States opened a temporary military base in northern Poland, just 80 km (50 miles) from the border of Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, a move that drew fierce criticism from Russia.

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

Contract on S-300 deliveries to Iran not canceled (Update 1)

The contract on supplying S-300 air defense systems to Iran has not yet been canceled, Rostekhnologii head Sergei Chemezov said on Thursday.

Chemezov said the final decision on signing or dropping the contract "must be made by the president."

On June 9, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1929 imposing a fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, including tougher financial controls and an expanded arms embargo.

The sale of S-300 air defense systems is believed to fall under the sanctions, though earlier Russia said the delivery would not be affected since the weapons are not included in the UN Register of Conventional Arms.

Moscow signed a contract on supplying Iran with at least five S-300 systems in December 2005, but the contract's implementation has so far been delayed.

YEKATERINBURG, July 15 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

US missile shield in Poland in 2018.

Thenews.pl
02.08.2010 08:25

A US land-based Aegis system along with SM-3 interceptors and additional sensors is scheduled to be stationed in Poland in 2018, according to a US daily.

The Washington Post says it has seen Pentagon plans for a new missile shield to protect Europe from a potential Iranian rocket attack.

Though Barack Obama’s administration cancelled the previous Bush administration plan for an anti-missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic a new plan to protect southern Europe is going ahead in a three phase implementation, says the reports.

Central to the plan will be a fleet of 38 US navy Aegis-class destroyers and cruisers with radar systems placed in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Israel.

In July Secretary of State Hilary Clinton signed an appendix to a previous agreement between Poland and US for the stationing of elements of the anti-missile shield in the country. (pg)

[TsarSamuil]

Russia's new generation S-500 missile defense system to enter service.

Russia's new generation S-500 air defense system will resolve the country's missile defense problems when it enters service, Air Force Commander Colonel General Alexander Zelin said on Tuesday.

"The S-500 air defense system is a system that will solve Russia's missile defense problems," Zelin said.

Answering a question about the S-500's technical specifications, Zelin said: "I would not compare the S-500 with the U.S. missile defense since they have different technical characteristics".

The S-500 is expected to have an extended range of up to 600 km (over 370 miles) and simultaneously engage up to 10 targets. The system will be capable of destroying hypersonic and ballistic targets.

He also added that two S-400 long-range missile defense systems would be delivered to the Far East by the end of 2010.

"We are planning to put two S-400s on combat duty at the Vostok strategic command," Zelin said.

MOSCOW, July 13 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

Iran could acquire nuke weapons capability - Medvedev (update 1)

Iran is close to acquiring the capability to make nuclear weapons, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Monday.

He urged Russian ambassadors and permanent representatives to move away from "simplistic approaches" toward the Iranian nuclear problem, adding that nuclear weapons capability is not prohibited by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

He reiterated Russia's position that sanctions "are not producing the desired results" but admitted that Iran was "not behaving in the best manner."

On June 9, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1929 imposing a fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, including tougher financial controls and an expanded arms embargo.

"We are consistently urging Tehran to show the necessary openness and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Association," the Russian president said.

He said the main goal of the latest UN resolution on Tehran was to restart the negotiation process as soon as possible.

"If diplomacy misses this chance, it will be a collective failure," Medvedev said.

MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti)

[TsarSamuil]

“Iran has obtained S-300 air defense systems”

RT.com
04 August, 2010, 15:24

Tehran has obtained four S-300 surface-to-air missiles, the Iranian news agency Fars has said. Two missiles were purchased from Belarus and two others from another unspecified source, it added.

According to Fars, the semiofficial news agency, Tehran’s possession of the missiles was revealed last year by Al-Menar TV. Iranian government officials never denied the report.

S-300s can track targets and fire at aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads 120 kilometers away, and are able to simultaneously engage up to 100 targets. Israel fears the possible delivery of the systems to Iran would change “the balance of forces” in the region. Analysts say Tehran may use the S-300 in case of a military strike against the country.

Russia has been delaying the delivery of the S-300 surface-to-air missile to Iran since 2007, when the two countries concluded a contract. In June this year, Moscow said the new UN Security sanctions against Iran would block the delivery.

Nevertheless, Russia has not yet cancelled the contract on supplying the systems to Iran, the head of Russia’s Rostekhnologii company Sergey Chemezov said in July. Tehran has insisted that Moscow should fulfill its commitments and deliver the missiles, threatening otherwise to “build” its own systems.

The media speculated recently that Russia could have sold the S-300 air defense systems to Azerbaijan. However, Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport denied a report by daily Vedomosti.

On August 2, an anonymous high-ranking source from the Russian Defense Ministry described the reports of the deal with Azerbaijan as “a mere bluff and profanation.” “There are no contracts regarding S-300s and they are unlikely to be signed any time soon,” He told Interfax news agency. “Today, the supply of Russian S-300s to Azerbaijan is impossible.”

Analysts see two main reasons behind Fars’ latest information on S-300s. Tehran has once again shown Israel and the US that the country is ready to defend itself from a possible attack. Iran may also try to exert additional pressure on Moscow in order to force it to fulfill its commitments and supply the air defense systems.

Meanwhile, Tehran says it is prepared to repel possible military attacks against the country. Iran has already defined the necessary strategies and drawn defensive plans to confront an enemy invasion, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on August 3, Fars reported.

Vahidi referred to “the intensified war rhetoric” by senior US military officials. Chairman of the US’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on August 4 that “military actions have been on the table and remain on the table.” “I hope we don't get to that, but it's an important option,” he stressed.

Sergey Borisov, RT