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Israel Shifts to Standoff Weapons in Syria as Russia Restricts Its Freedom of Action
(Breaking Defense) Arie Egozi - Defense sources say the Israeli military is planning to change its tactics in Syria to employ long-range standoff munitions as opposed to air strikes on Iran-linked military targets, following a new Russian policy to use its higher-end air defense systems capable of shooting down Israeli jets over Syrian airspace. Last week, Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit said in a TV interview that Russian forces assisted the Syrians in intercepting four missiles launched by Israeli F-16s - the first time Russian assistance was given to counter Israeli military operations. Kulit said a Russian SA-17 was used, a medium-range advanced defense missile complex (ADMC) used by the Russian Army. The system is operated directly by the Russian military. Israeli sources confirmed that the SA-17 was used for the first time against Israeli missiles, raising fears that Israeli pilots could be targeted as well. For the majority of the conflict in Syria, Israel and Russia have maintained a hotline that allowed the Israeli military to alert Russian forces of incoming strikes. Generally, sources say, Russia was given two to three minutes of warning in order to remove their personnel in the area, and in some cases missions were aborted over fears of striking Russian forces. However, Russian officials now say the deconfliction line no longer exists, while Israeli sources say communications through the line have effectively stopped. "Russia has decided to end the Israeli freedom of action over Syria," said Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a senior Israeli expert. Moscow want to portray Syria as a functioning country. "The frequent Israeli air strikes on targets in Syria do not help to build the desired image."