US concerned that Wagner transfers Pantsir-S1 to Hezbollah

Private military group Wagner may transfer Pantsir-S1 air defense systems to Hezbollah in Lebanon, WSJ reported citing US intelligence.

The Wall Street Journal today quoted many anonymous US officials as saying that US intelligence has information showing that Russia's private military corporation Wagner is planning to provide the Pantsir-S1 short-range air defense missile-gun system to the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon.

An official said U.S. intelligence was monitoring discussions between Wagner and Hezbollah, but could not confirm whether the Pantsir-S1 had been transferred. The system could be drawn from Wagner forces already in Syria, with the approval of President Bashar al-Assad.

"This is concerning, especially since Russia just hosted a Hamas delegation in Moscow," said US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.

Russian and Hezbollah officials have not commented.

Pantsir-S1 system in service with the Syrian army in 2020. Photo: Syrian Ministry of Defense

The news comes amid concerns that Iran-backed Hezbollah could launch an attack on northern Israel in response to Tel Aviv’s ground campaign against the Gaza Strip. The US Department of Defense has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a 2,000-strong rapid response unit off the coast of Israel to deter regional adversaries.

Wagner and Hezbollah have both deployed forces to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against rebel groups. Some Western analysts believe that the transfer of Pantsir-S1 systems to Hezbollah is Moscow's way of responding to Tehran's provision of suicide drones for Russia's campaign in Ukraine.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is considered a "resistance" group tasked with confronting Israel, but most Western countries list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

The Israeli army and Hezbollah have been fighting almost daily since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out in early October. Hezbollah said on October 29 that it had shot down an Israeli drone in southern Lebanon, the first time since the border conflict escalated.

Russia developed the Pantsir anti-aircraft gun-missile system in the 1990s to replace the Tunguska M1 system. Each combat vehicle consists of two 2A38M automatic cannons with 1,500 30mm rounds, a range of 4km and a maximum rate of fire of 5,000 rounds/minute, along with 12 57E6 short-range missiles capable of destroying targets from a distance of 20km.

Russian media reported in 2018 that the country had transferred at least 40 Pantsir-S1 combat vehicles to Syria. Some of the vehicles had been destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in recent years.

Vu Anh (According to Wall Street Journal )

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