During a UN press conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated the deliveries
has started.
He said the air defense system “will be devoted to ensuring 100 percent safety and
security of our men in Syria.”
On 2nd Oct during a meeting broadcast by Rossiya 24 TV, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told
President Vladimir Putin, “The work was finished a day ago,” adding that the system
would improve the security of Russian military personnel in Syria.
The S-300 has a fairly large footprint and not easy to transport.
Keeping in view Russia is using Antonov An-124 which is considered to be the largest military
transport aircraft in the world.
In this video, defense Updates analyses Russian Antonov An-124 which transported S 300 to Syria.
Let's get started.
S 300 air defense system consists of mainly of 3 components:
1. Radars: These radars are used to detect & track threats.
This consists of Long Range Surveillance radar as well as different types of Engagement Radars
2. Launcher: This consist of vertical tubes that can accommodate many different types of missiles.
3. Battle Management station: This is where all the data is process and engagement go ahead
can be provided to the system
Apart from these, there is power supply units, extra missile containers, missile reloading
vehicle and some camouflaging packages.
So it is evident, that S 300 is an elaborate system and Russia wanted to have the S 300
deployed in Syria as soon as possible.
This is where Antonov An-124 comes in the picture.
The Antonov An-124 is a strategic airlift jet aircraft.
During the 1970s, Soviet Air Forces mission planner felt that there was a gap in strategic
heavy airlift capacity.
The largest pain available to the force was about 50 Antonov An-22 turboprops.
But these were not adequate and led to the development of Antonov An-124.
Design work started in 1971 and construction of facilities began in 1973.
The lead designer of the An-124 was Viktor Tolmachev.
Antonov An-124 first flight took place in December 1982.
It was first revealed to the worldwide audience in 1985 at the Paris Air Show
On May 1987, an An-124 set a world record by covering a distance of 20,151 km or 10,881nm
without refueling.
The aircraft needs a crew of 4 to 6.
It is powered by 4 Progress D-18T turbofans each providing 229.5 kN of thrust.
It has a maximum speed of 865 km/h and a range of 5,200 km or 2,808 nm or 3231 mi.
It has a length of 68.96 m or 226 ft 3 in & wingspan of 73.3 m or 240 ft 5 in.
Antonov An-124 has a massive payload 150,000 kg or 330,000 lb and service ceiling of 12,000 m
or 39,370 ft.
The massive lifting capability has enabled Russia to quickly transfer S 300 in Syria.