Russia apparently arranged the S-400 radar near Iraq and spotted a US F-35 squadron close to Iran on January 8, according to Chinese media.

"It is likely that Russia has deployed a 96L6 altitude radar on the S-400 air defense system at Qamishli base, northeast of Syria. This allows them to monitor the entire northern airspace of Iraq, as well as spotted a squadron of US F-35A stealth fighters operating near Iran's airspace on the morning of January 8, "the article posted on China's Sohu military site said yesterday.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on this information.

The news came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that "at least six US F-35 stealth fighters appeared near Iran's airspace" on the morning of January 8. He said the information needed to be further verified, but emphasized the appearance of the US F-35A squadron could be the cause of Iranian air defenses, nervousness and mistaken firing of Ukraine International Airlines' aircraft. 176 people were killed.

Lavrov's comments sparked controversy over Russia's S-400 airspace surveillance range at Russia's Hmeimim base in northwestern Syria. The S-400 radar here can only monitor airspace with a radius of 600 km, covering most of Syrian airspace and parts of Iraqi airspace, but cannot monitor the Iran-Iraq border area.

"The most plausible explanation is that the Russian air force brought the 96L6E radar from Hmeimim base to Qamishli base, which is only about 100 km from the Iraqi border," Sohu commented.

Russian site Avia.Pro also said that if the Russian air defense discovered six stealthy F-35 fighters close to Iranian air on the morning of January 8, they had to arrange the radar of the S-400 complex in the northeast region. Syria.

The US Department of Defense has not yet commented on Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's statement.

The 96L6 is a high altitude all-round radar developed to replace the 76N6 low-catch radar and the 36D6 ring in the S-300 complex. Each 96L6 radio is capable of detecting targets at a maximum distance of 300 km, tracking up to 100 targets at a time.

The 96L6 radar is often deployed in S-400 systems to deal with targets such as low-flying fighters and cruise missiles, but can also operate independently to increase airspace and airspace control.

The Russian army in November 2019 took over a series of bases in northern Syria, including Qamishli airport, which was abandoned by the United States after Turkey launched a military campaign against Kurdish militias. Moscow then only deployed armed helicopters and artillery systems - short-range air defense missiles Pantsir to protect this site.

Location of Qamishli base in northern Syria. Graphics: Alaraby.