UPDATE # 1 -RT
Moscow’s decision to supply an S-300 air-defense system to the Syrian military is “adequate in the current situation and is, in the first place, aimed at preventing any potential threat to the lives of Russian servicemen” in the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by telephone.
I’d mentioned in yesterday’s post that Russia was quite possibly exacting retribution for Israel’s intentional endangerment of their plane, which resulted in the deaths of 15 service persons, while insulting their intelligence with their lie filled presentation of innocence by publicly outing the presence of IDF soldiers, on Syrian territory, which was unsurprisingly held by ISIS.
UPDATE #1: Russia outed the presence of IDF soldiers in Syria- As they (Russia) retrieved remains of IDF soldiers--- not one person who reads here will be shocked or surprised that that Israeli military fully participated alongside their Kurdish and coalition allies in destroying Syria.
Israel tried to "spin" this away.... As mentioned in Update #2 (yesterday's post) with some absurd perception managing story......
Another item of interest that I'd saved yesterday was an article full of Israeli hand wringing that Russia was going to "change the rules of the game in Syria"
“As senior officials think,” he wrote at the Hebrew news website Walla, “Putin’s tragic event has become a ripe fruit and he will leverage it to impose new rules of the game, such as … much earlier warning systems, restrictions on traffic routes that will reduce the IDF’s freedom of action on the sea and in the air,” and to gain concessions from Israel and the US.
As my post headline stated "payback is a bitch". Looks to me as if a bit more payback is being readied for Israel. Today it's been announced that the S-300 air defense missile system will be supplied to Syria within two weeks
"Within two weeks, the Syrian army will get from Russia S-300 air-defense missiles to strengthen its combat capabilities following the downing of a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft in Syria, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday."A modern S-300 air defense missile system will be supplied to the Syrian Armed Forces within two weeks. It is capable of intercepting air assault weapons at a distance of more than 250 kilometers and hit simultaneously several air targets," the minister said.Shoigu said S-300 missiles will strongly strengthen combat capabilities of the Syrian air defense due to their jamming invulnerability and firing speed.
I would suspect this jamming invulnerability is important. Recalling the Russian presentation yesterday it was mentioned that the IDF employed electronic interference.
"I will underscore - at the request of the Israeli side, in 2013 we suspended the delivery of S-300 systems that were ready for the dispatch, while the Syrian military had undergone training. Now the situation has changed, and we are not to blame," the defense minister said.Command posts of the Syrian air defense will also be equipped with Russian automated systems, which guarantee the identification of Russian aircraft, the defense chief stated. "The command posts of Syrian air defense forces and units will be equipped with automated control systems only supplied to the Russian armed forces. This will facilitate centralized control over all forces and resources of the Syrian air defense, monitor the situation in the air, and ensure operative issuance of orders. Most importantly, we will guarantee the identification of all Russian aircrafts by the Syrian air defense systems," Shoigu said.A Russian electronic surveillance Il-20 plane was downed over the Mediterranean Sea late on September 17 when it was flying back to the Russian airbase at Syria’s Hmeymim. According to the Russian defense ministry, the plane was shot down by a missile from a Syrian S-200 air defense complex when it was firing at four Israeli F-16 aircraft attacking targets in the Latakia governorate. The Israeli pilots actually used the Russian aircraft as a cover, exposing it to Syrian missiles, the ministry stressed"