The sources said Israel's F-16 multi-role fighter has already been
equipped with systems that could detect and alert pilots of any S-300
launch. They did not say how many of the nearly 250 aircraft in the F-16
fleet contain these systems.
The Israel Air Force has acquired classified data on the S-300 for use
in pilot training, the sources said. They said combat pilots were employing
simulators in mock operations against the S-300.
The simulation was designed by the air force's software department,
Ofeq. The scenario was meant to replicate S-300 radar lock-on of an Israeli
F-16 multi-role fighter. The pilot was said to receive an alert of the radar
lock-on, giving him seconds to maneuver out of danger.
"We can't simulate a real-life situation of a missile that locks on to
an airplane," an officer identified only as Maj. Lee, said. "But the rest we
could replicate."
The sources said Syria was also expected to acquire the S-300. They said
Iran would probably operate any S-300 batteries in Syria.
The S-300 data integrated into the Israeli simulator included the
capabilities of the radar, command and control and interceptor. They said
the simulator was designed to accommodate any enhancement of the S-300.
"The [S-300] missile's manuevering, the ground terrain — all of these
things are elements configured into the algorithms, and we simulate this for
the pilot," Lee, who helped design the simulation program, said.