Defense enterprise ALEVKURP has modernized a batch of S-125 surface-to-air missile systems for Cuba, according to a message from the State Authority for Military Industry of belarus published Saturday, May 3. Press service included a photo of test firings from a modernized launcher where it appears mounted on the T-55 chassis.
The upgrade enabled the system to engage targets on land and in the sea in the surface-to-surface mode. The CyberCuba media states that the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces have as many as 144 S-125 launchers at their disposal.
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None of the important details of the modernization contract between Cuba and belarus were publicly disclosed. Neither the start date or the scope of work, the total order value, or the date of signing. Still, the very fact of such cooperation is notable as it helps sustain the belarusian defense industry, crippled by international sanctions, particularly for helping russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine, in worth noting.
However, the broader geopolitical context implies a more serious threat posed by the partnership between the Cuban authorities and the Lukashenko regime, where we can see the hand of the Kremlin.
In summer 2024, russia sent its warships equipped with Zircon missiles to Cuba, a campaign that seemingly yielded no tangible results at first glance. But soon after, by an interesting coincidence, the Cuban military decided to establish cooperation with the belarusian defense industry to modernize at least part of its old Soviet weapons, earlier sustained by sheer willpower and band-aid repairs.
Given the geographical and logistical backdrop, the delivery of weapons from Cuba to the territory of belarus is currently possible only by transit through the territory of russia, making this sort of arrangement between the Cuban and belarusian regimes impossible without Moscow's participation and possibly mediation.
Due to its isolation, Cuba was previously deprived of any opportunity to modernize its armed forces and thus posed much less of a threat to Latin America ever since the collapse of the USSR.
Cuba did not pose a direct military threat to Latin America during the entire period after the collapse of the USSR, given that external isolation deprived the Cuban regime of the opportunity to modernize its armed forces, and Moscow has repeatedly shot down requests for equipment supplies.
Be that as it may, now the Cuban regime has found a loophole and breathed some life into its armed forces, raising concerns about creating another leverage for the Kremlin to oppose the U.S. interests in Latin America.
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