In a bold faced power move, Russia just moved additional missile defense batteries to Syria and issued a thinly veiled threat that it would shoot down any US or coalition aircraft that tried to bomb Syrian regime targets without warning. This step, just days after US and Russian bilateral negotiations for a ceasefire fell through, shows the depth of Russia’s commitment to Syrian President Assad,
who has shown a ferocious willingness to use chemical and banned weapons against his own people since the war started in 2011. But the Russian S-300 and S-400 missile defense batteries pose a serious question about US and coalition military capabilities versus the Russians. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, went as far as to say that “all the illusions of amateurs about the existence of ‘invisible’ jets will face a disappointing reality,” referring to the US’s fifth generation stealth aircraft, the F-22 and F-35. FULL REPORT
