well, the media is reporting that the s-300 missile defense system is finally operational in syria.

i don't want to be dismissive of the israeli capabilities - it's quite well known that they have very well trained pilots and, perhaps more importantly, very advanced hacking and espionage abilities, which is especially important in contrast with the russians, who are still dominant in hardware manufacturing but are decades behind on the software side. the israelis may very well find themselves able to shut the system down remotely with minimal effort; i would not expect the russians to be able to defend themselves from an israeli systems blitz, in the long run - the israelis will eventually solve this problem.

if the system is at least operational in the short run, the next question to ask is what kind of coverage exists. i would suspect that there will remain weak spots that can be exploited, and the israelis will find them. it will be up to the russians to adjust.

but, if the israelis are serious about these attacks until at least election day, we'll see how serious the defenses are.