Israeli airstrike takes out apparent S-300 launcher

A still from seeker footage released by the IDF on 7 April shows an apparent launcher from an Iranian S-300PMU2 system moments before it was hit. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a video on 7 April showing an airstrike on what appeared to be a 5P85TE2 transporter erector launcher (TEL) from one of Iran's S-300PMU2 long-range air defence systems.

The video included several strikes filmed by the infrared seekers on missiles as they approached their targets, all of which were obscured in editing except the TEL, which had its four missile canisters erected in the launch position. No supporting radars could be seen in the clip.

“In precise strikes carried out under the direction of IDF intelligence, more than 130 Iranian terror regime air defence systems were dismantled,” the IDF said in the statement accompanying the video.

The IDF, which said it achieved air superiority over Iran on 1 March, did not say when the airstrikes took place.

However, Janes identified the location of the TEL as an air defence base in Kahrizak south of Tehran, with the missile approaching from the north. The IDF released a video on 4 April that identified this base as an air defence site that was one of the targets in a recent wave of strikes.

The base was originally designed for two HAWK (or Iranian Mersad version) air defence systems, but satellite imagery shows it was used for one of Iran's four S-300PMU2s from 2018.

Satellite imagery shows the target-engagement radar for one of these systems was destroyed in Isfahan by an Israeli airstrike in April 2024 and the other three S-300PMU2s were reportedly destroyed by Israeli strikes in October 2024.