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Cuba has test fired its most modern air defense system during military drills amid increasing pressure from the United States.
The S-125-2BM system is seen intercepting an aerial target in video from the drills shared by Cuban state media on May 21. The country has long maintained several operational Soviet-made S-125 systems. These systems were previously upgraded locally by mounting the originally static quadruple missile launchers on the chassis of T-55 tanks.
Last year, it was revealed that at least some of these systems have been upgraded to the S-125-2BM standard by Belarus’ JSC ALEVKURP. The upgrade utilizes advanced electronics and improved mobility to effectively engage modern manned and unmanned aerial targets.
The system, which uses semi-active radar guidance, can engage targets within a range of 30 kilometers, and within an altitude up to 25 kilometers.
Tensions between Cuba and the United States have been on the rise since President Donald Trump ordered a special operation to capture Nicolas Maduro, the long-term leader of Cuban ally Venezuela, earlier this year. More than 30 Cuban troops who were guarding Maduro’s residency in Caracas were killed in the operation.
Right after, Trump vowed to starve Cuba of oil, amid one of the worst energy crises in the history of the communist-ruled nation.
In recent weeks, Trump threatened Cuba more than once, saying he can do “anything” he wants with the impoverished state and may have “the honor of taking Cuba.” On May 20, he said he was “freeing up” the country.
“It’s a failing nation. You see that. It’s falling apart. They have no oil, they have no money,” Trump told reporters. “But we’re there to help — we’re there to help the families, the people.”
Adding to the pressure, U.S. federal prosecutors announced on May 20 criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to “justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.”
In a message on social media, Díaz-Canel accused the U.S. of lying and manipulating events surrounding the shootdown, including ignoring repeated warnings by Cuban officials at the time that they would defend against “dangerous violations” of their airspace “by notorious terrorists.”
While Trump has suggested before that the U.S. could move against Cuba when the war on Iran is over, this could happen at any movement.
A military operation in the island nation could come faster, without much preparations to be noticed by observers, due to its proximity to the U.S. mainland.
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