Why the Israeli attack on Iran also damaged the image of the Russian arms industry

The air attacks of Israel against military targets in Iran This also affected the image of the industry. arm of Russia .

According to American and Israeli officials, Wall Street Journal , Iran’s air defense equipment was Russian-made and was barely capable of stopping few or no missiles. .

The offensive, which occurred in the early hours (local time) of Saturday October 26, This meant that Iran lost all three of its S-300 systems .

Previously, earlier this year, Israeli forces They destroyed the other one they had .

At the same time, during other attacks, Ukrainian troops managed to destroy S-300 systems used by Russian soldiers .

It is good to remember that Russia developed its military invasion in Ukraine an operation which began on February 24, 2022.

The country’s men in uniform headed by Volodimir Zelensky They also attacked more advanced S-400 systems throughout this year. which resulted in the loss of components or complete interceptor complexes, according to the aforementioned media.

This mechanism was deployed for the first time in 2007 and This is the most sophisticated air defense equipment of the Kremlin forces .

As analysts explain to the American newspaper, This is Moscow’s response to the United States’ Patriot system. .

Since its introduction in the late 1970s, The Russian S-300 system, the one used by Iran, has been constantly updated .

The aforementioned model as well as the S-400 are used by some of Russia’s allies. like China and Belarus.

Furthermore, These are sold to customers such as India and Vietnam .

Although Russia has attacked at least one Patriot system in Ukraine and Israel’s missile defense mechanisms have also been penetrated by attacks from Iran and its allies, analysts have called for Newspaper that What happened during the recent Israeli offensive has affected the image of the Russian arms industry. which has already faced complications in recent years.

The estimates of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) states that Foreign arms sales of the country presided over by Vladimir Putin fell by 52% in 2023 compared to the previous year that is, the same one with which the invasion of Ukraine began.

A report from the group of experts ensures that this decline “suggests that Russian arms exports likely to remain well below 2014-2018 level at least in the short term.

The senior member of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute Ian Storey, stressed to the American newspaper that Russia’s military invasion of Ukrainian territory ‘was a public relations disaster for its defense industry’ .

“Russia’s traditional customers have lost confidence in the country’s defense industry and are looking for new suppliers” » added the analyst from the Singapore-based think tank.

Experts have stated that Russia uses the vast majority of the weapons parts it is capable of producing, which has also affected its sales. of this area.

They also suggested that Your main customers are probably asking for details on the recent performance of its defense systems.

In this sense, the senior official of the military aerospace sector of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Douglas Barrie, stated that In scenarios with these characteristics “you will ask your supplier” on efficiency levels and ways to improve them.

India is one of Russia’s main arms customers since the Cold War period (1947-1989), analysts comment.

According to SIPRI, the country accounted for more than a third of its military exports between 2019 and 2023 .

Indian security officials said Newspaper that received three of the five S-400 systems ordered from Moscow and that the first are positioned along its borders with Pakistan and China.

They are expected to be delivered the two remaining at the end of 2025 .

According to officials told the aforementioned media, They were not on alert after the Israeli attack on Iran on October 26.

A duty officer assured that “There is no comparison between the S-400 and any other air defense system in the world” .

Likewise, he clarified that “What Iran has is an inferior version” .

“We are not at all concerned about its advanced technology or performance” he added, referring to its S-400 systems.

And although another official said India was waiting for the Israeli attack on Iranian territory, he said the country “does not depend solely on Russian technology” .

In this sense, the sources indicated that develop long-range surface-to-air missile systems which they expect to have a battery life similar to that of the S-400.