Comment by braincat31415

I don't think it's a matter of moving goalposts but rather a matter of what's implied when talking about these AD systems. S400 and S300 are primarily designed to operate as an integral part of an AD networked components. Iran didn't have the integrated network of S300 or S400, and Russian prior offers to provide it were declined. We do not know S400 capabilites against the F-35 planes, but there is some evidence that they might be fairly effective. This was a concern when Turkey purchased an S400 system ("It is not possible to both fly the F-35 in space where the S-400 is significantly operable." - Mike Pompeo) - Washington cancelled the deal with Turkey because of concerns that its low frequency radar can track and analyze F-35 operations (there are multiple sources on that).