The Israeli satellite imagery company iSi has unveiled what it claims is the first site for one of the S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems, delivered by Russia to Syria.
READ MORE: Special Delivery: WATCH New Video of Russian S-300 Deployment in Syria
The company identified the location as a pre-existing air defense base in the northwest of the town of Masyaf.
#Imagesat #intelligence report #reveals the current location of the first #Syrian #S300 #battery which was recently received from #Russia.
— imagesatintl (@imagesatint) 25 октября 2018 г.
For additional #imagery and #insights regarding the new #SAM deployment near #Masyaf, #Syria, visit our website: https://t.co/IGkXvfIZs2 pic.twitter.com/lXX0u2rHzD
The satellite images from October 22 featured large vehicles under camouflage nets that the iSi claimed were S-300 systems deployed at the aforementioned base, while another image, dated October 24, showed four alleged S-300 transporter erector launchers near a newly constructed deployment post.
We found it!#Breaking: #imagesat #intelligence report reveals the location of the first #Syrian #S300, which arrived from #Russia during the last days of September 2018. pic.twitter.com/fXMRSUHFYd
— imagesatintl (@imagesatint) 24 октября 2018 г.
At the same time, iSi claimed that the deployment was not operational yet.
READ MORE: Destruction Range of Russia's S-300 Sent to Syria Reaches 155 Miles — Think Tank
The Syrian military hasn't commented on the reports yet.
In late September, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it would provide Syria with S-300s to boost the security of Russian servicemen stationed in the war-torn country.
The decision was made in the wake of the inadvertent destruction of a Russian Il-20 military reconnaissance aircraft by Syrian air defenses responding to an Israeli air raid.
READ MORE: Saudi Envoy Doubts S-300 Deliveries Will Help to Solve Syrian Conflict
The Russian military has blamed the crash on the Israeli Air Force, stressing that an Israeli fighter jet had used the Il-20 as a shield against Syrian air defenses. Tel Aviv, in turn, has flatly rejected the accusations, claiming that it had warned Moscow about the air strikes in the region in a timely fashion.
