Over the Red Line - update to Drumbeats of War
According to KB Mashynostroyeniya, the Russian manufacturer of the IGLA-S man-portable air defense missile system, it is:
“…designed to engage front line aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and UAVs under direct visibility conditions and in the night time, head-on and tail chase, in background clutter and thermal countermeasures environment. IGLA-S MANPADS is a new-generation system featuring considerably extended firing range and enhanced kill probability against aerial targets and possessing a new quality for this class of systems - high engagement effectiveness against small-size targets like cruise missiles and UAVs.”
Why am I posting this information?
Because according to Israeli sources, the Syrians have given these things to Hizballah in Lebanon.
Israel has warned Syria not to give Hizballah such high value strategic weapons, or Israel would be compelled to strike targets INSIDE SYRIA.
Whether these state-of-the-art anti-air devices came directly from Russia, or through Iran, is a moot point.
The point is… the coalition centering on Iran has made a move that Israel has said would cause them to send airstrikes inside Syria.
If that happens, the whole mess blows up: Syria, Iran and Lebanese Hizballah have sworn retaliation against Israel… even if they are the ones who provoke the Israeli military action, as they are pretty clearly doing in this case.
And Israeli Minister of Defense Barak keeps saying, as recently as last week, that if Hizballah strikes Israel, even in retaliation against Israeli military action, Israel will initiate action against Iran and Syria.
One step over the line. Who will flinch and back down. Or not.
