Israel warns of attack if Russia air defences used in Syria
Israel’s Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on 24 April that his country would attack Russian S-300 air defence systems in Syria if they were used against Israeli targets.
His remarks came a day after the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Moscow could soon start to deliver S-300 systems to its ally Damascus, and cited a source as warning of ‘catastrophic’ consequences if they were attacked.
‘What is important to us is that the defensive weapons the Russians are giving Syria will not be used against us,’ Lieberman told the news website Ynet.
‘If they are used against us, we will act against them.’
According to Kommersant, Russia and Syria signed an accord in 2010 for the S-300 system but the missiles have not been delivered because of Israeli pressure.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in early April that no decision had yet been taken on the S-300 missiles.
The Russians have deployed the S-300 around their own Tartus naval base on Syria’s Mediterranean coast and the more advanced S-400 at their Hmeimim air base in western Syria.
‘We have an open line; we really do have discourse’ with the Russians, said Lieberman, noting that their systems had never been used against Israel.
‘For several years we have been constantly in coordination and able to avoid friction with the Russians.’
Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the armistice line on the sector of the Golan Heights which the Jewish state seized from its Arab neighbour in 1967 was largely quiet for decades until the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011.
The Israeli side of the Golan has since seen regular spillover fire, and Israel has carried out dozens of air strikes on Syrian armed forces and their allies.
Israel says its strikes aim to stop advanced weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group allied to the Syrian government and with which the Jewish state fought a devastating war in 2006.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![SOF Week 2026: US military tests AI algorithm to support missions in low-light scenarios]()
SOF Week 2026: US military tests AI algorithm to support missions in low-light scenarios
The US Army and USAF are evaluating an AI-enabled imaging capability from Deepnight designed to enhance low-light and no-light operations across multiple platforms and environments.
-
![Industrial capacity under scrutiny as US approves further $8.6 billion Middle East arms sale]()
Industrial capacity under scrutiny as US approves further $8.6 billion Middle East arms sale
The fast-tracked emergency approvals come as the conflict in the Middle East stretches out into its third month, after Iranian attacks depleted US allies’ missile stockpiles and testing air defence systems.
-
![Intelligence innovation: From data overload to decision advantage (Podcast)]()
Intelligence innovation: From data overload to decision advantage (Podcast)
As militaries face an overwhelming flow of data, the challenge is shifting from collection to delivering fast, actionable insights that drive decision-making. Advances in AI and data integration are helping armed forces move beyond siloed systems to generate real-time intelligence across domains and allies.
-
![SAHA 2026 to Convene the Global Defence Ecosystem]()
SAHA 2026 to Convene the Global Defence Ecosystem
SAHA 2026 brings global defence and aerospace leaders to Istanbul for partnerships, launches, panels and high-value meetings.
-
![Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms]()
Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms
In a partnership with Emesent, Teledyne FLIR will equip its autonomous air, ground and detection systems with the Hovermap LiDAR payload in a move that highlights a broader market shift towards modular architectures, shared payloads and interoperability across platforms.
-
![US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors]()
US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors
The Pentagon’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes an impressive increase in the procurement of interceptors, with the number of the US Army’s PAC-3 MSE rounds expanding by 683%, the US Navy’s Standard Missile by 365% and the MDA’s SM-3 IIA by more than 1,000%.
