It has purchased from Russia the Supersonic SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship cruise missile, which was designed specifically to strike our Aegis cruisers and destroyers.

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Russia's announcement last Saturday that it will sell Syria the supersonic Yakhont anti-ship cruise missile was a testament to Iran's rising regional power and the US's loss of power.

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Mr Haggerty reckons this would require (for openers) striking around 450 targets, including more than 20 command, control and early-warning radar centres, 150 SAM sites, 205 aircraft shelters, 32 additional air-base targets, 27 surface-to-surface (SS) missile batteries and 12 anti-ship cruise-missile batteries.

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