In theory, the S-200VE systems operated by the Syrians—an export version developed in 1982—can track and engage up to five separate targets at a time. The missiles themselves—the V-880E/5V28E export version of the S-200—have a range of 240 kilometers (150 miles) and use a combination of solid rocket boosters and a liquid-fueled main engine.
The missiles themselves have semi-active homing—they carry no radar transmitter of their own but instead lock onto the reflected signal of the continuous-wave targeting radar without requiring command guidance from the launch site.
The Israeli Air Force has been fairly successful at jamming S-200 targeting radars in the past with its electronic warfare systems. Only one Israeli F-16 has been confirmed to have been downed by an S-200—on February 10, when returning from a strike in retaliation for an alleged Iranian UAV incursion into Israeli airspace. Both the pilot and the navigator managed to eject safely. In fact, the S-200s fired at Israeli aircraft have been a greater danger to people on the ground—one S-200 had to be intercepted by an Arrow missile after it lost its target and went ballistic, flying toward a populated area in Israel.
The Syrians are often late in getting their shots off. After the
US, French, and British missile strikes on Syria in April, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie of the Joint Staff said that most of the Syrians' anti-aircraft missile launches "occurred after our strike was over" and followed ballistic trajectories—essentially firing wild into the sky. So it's likely that Syrian defenders were late to fire again Monday night—and designated the only target they could find in the direction they believed the attack came from.
This isn't the first time an S-200 has shot down an aircraft in error. In October 2001, the Ukrainian Air Force
accidentally shot down a Siberian Airlines flight from Russia over the Black Sea, killing 78 Russian and Israeli citizens.
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