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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL3104614520080723
Israel: Iran to Get New Russian Air Defenses by '09
[Reuters ] Dan Williams - Iran is set to receive advanced Russian-made S-300 missile batteries by the end of the year that could help fend off strikes against its nuclear facilities, senior Israeli defense sources said on Wednesday. The best S-300 can track 100 targets at once and fire on planes 120 km. away. An Israeli defense official said Iran's contract with Russia required that the S-300s be delivered by the end of 2008. A second source said first units would arrive in early September. "There's no doubt that the S-300s would make an air attack more difficult," the Israeli official said. "But there's an answer for every counter-measure, and as far as we're concerned, the sooner the Iranians get the new system, the more time we will have to inspect the deployments and tactical doctrines." According to the Israeli official, it would take a year for Iran to deploy the S-300s and man them with trained operators.