Russia provided the Syrian regime with two Bastion coastal missile systems, comprising 18 mobile launchers and an estimated 72 of the missiles that have a maximum speed of Mach 2, twice the speed of sound, a range of 187 miles and carry a warhead containing 440 pounds of high explosives.

The deliveries took place amid Syria's civil war, with disparate rebel forces seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad, a key ally of Russia and Iran.

The provision of such weapons to the Damascus regime was widely seen as a Russian warning to the United States and Israel not to interfere in the Syrian conflict.