Russia’s vaunted S-300 and S-400 missile systems have been in the news quite a bit of late.
Last month, Moscow and Tehran officially revived a long stalled contract worth some $800 million that will see a handful of S-300s delivered to Tehran over the next several months. The deal was initially reached in 2007 but was put on hold in 2010 amid the international sanctions on Iran. Putin lifted the ban earlier this year, citing progress on the Iran nuclear deal.
Needless to say, the US and Israel were not amused. “We made clear time and again our objections to any sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran,” US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
"The S-300 is exclusively a defensive weapon, which can't serve offensive purposes and will not jeopardize the security of any country, including, of course, Israel,” Sergei Lavrov remarked in April, after Russia decided to move ahead with the contract.
Lavrov is correct, but Israel's concern isn't that the Iranians are planning a preemptive strike. Rather, Netanyahu worries that the systems will be used to protect Tehran's nuclear sites and/or be diverted to Lebanon or Syria. “Israeli concern about a future missile deal between Russia and Iran pertains to the possible transfer of this weapons system to Bashar Assad's regime in Syria or to Hezbollah, which would significantly limits the Israel Air Force's freedom of activity in Syrian or Lebanese skies,” an unnamed Israeli official told Haaretz last spring.
Well as it turns out, advanced Russian air defense systems did indeed end up in Syria and Assad’s army as well as Hezbollah are indeed among the beneficiaries.
Rumors were already circulating that Russia had sent S-400s to Latakia when Turkey shot down one of Moscow’s warplanes near the Syrian border. In the aftermath of that incident, Russia made it official and deployed the weapons to protect The Kremlin’s interests in the event anyone else gets any ideas about taking pot shots at a Sukhoi.
As we reported earlier this month, Israel has been secretly training against an S-300 in Crete in what looks like an effort to learn how to beat the system in the event the units end up protecting Iranian and Syrian interests on the ground.
On Wednesday, the S-400 was back in the news. As Bloomberg reports, India is set to buy five S-400s for some $4.5 billion from Russia as part of a broader initiative by PM Narendra Modi to upgrade the country's military. Here's more:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Moscow after approving what’s set to be his nation’s biggest weapons deal with Russia since 2001, reaffirming a military partnership that newer suppliers like the U.S. will find difficult to dislodge.
The S-400 air defense missile systems, which India plans to buy, are among the "crown jewels" of Russia’s defense capability, according to Jon Grevatt, Asia-Pacific defense-industry analyst for IHS Jane’s. The two-day visit starting Dec. 23 will also include a private dinner with Russian President Vladimir Putin and an event at the Kremlin with Russian and Indian chief executives.
"Russia and India have a very strong partnership that the U.S. can only aspire to," said Grevatt. "Sales from America may ebb and flow, but the sales from Russia will remain strong because there are so many ongoing programs between the two countries."
The $150 billion that Modi plans to spend to upgrade his military could be a welcome diversion for Putin, who’s bracing for a second year of recession amid Western sanctions. Although the U.S. emerged as India’s biggest defense supplier last fiscal year, the Asian nation’s links with Russia stretch back to their Soviet-era ties.
India’s defense acquisition panel last week approved the purchase of five S-400 systems. While the price is still to be negotiated, it’s likely to cost about $4.5 billion, a defense ministry official said, asking not to be identified because the detail isn’t public yet.
That would make it the biggest deal by value since 2001, when India agreed to buy 140 Su-30MK Sukhoi fighter jets, which the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates to be worth as much as $5.4 billion.
Bloomberg goes on to list more possible deals between the two countries:
- Kamov OAO may name an Indian partner to build 200 Ka-226T light military cargo helicopters in India; the deal may be valued at $1 billion, India TV reported
- Lease of a second nuclear-powered attack submarine from Russia. First submarine was leased in 2012 for $1 billion over 10 years
- Indian navy order for three Russian frigate warships. India paid about $1 billion for three Talwar-class frigates in 1997
- Agreement to re-start joint development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, stalled for two years over cost differences. Estimated project value: $10 billion
So here again is "isolated" Russia forced to peddle antiquated Soviet military technology to tiny, rogue states. Oh, wait. Actually this is Moscow selling the most advanced air defense technology on the planet to one of the world's most important emerging economies with whom The Kremlin has a long and very amicable relationship.
For anyone still buying the Putin "isolation" story, we encourage you to speak to PM Modi who had the following to say about the Russian leader this week:
"The best thing is that he knows how to maintain relations. He has a special strength to sacrifice for the relations. It is rarely found."