Russia has been carrying out airstrikes on ISIL terrorist group in Syria since the end of September at the request of President Bashar Assad, Russia’s long-term ally.
Russian officials have insisted that their military involvement in Syria will be limited to an air force operation.
Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said in an interview with the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda that the anti-aircraft missiles are there to project Russian fighter jets from a possible attack or hijack while on mission, The Associated Press reported.
"There can be different emergencies, such as hijacking the jet on the territory of a neighboring country or an attack on it," he said. "We should be prepared for that."
Bondarev did not specify the type of missiles Russia provided.
Russia, Western nations and regional countries, including Iran, have been engaged in intense diplomatic talks in the past few weeks, aiming to bring about a political settlement in Syria, which has been torn by a civil war since 2011 that has killed 250,000 people and forced millions to flee.
A Russian deputy foreign minister said earlier this week that Moscow is aiming to host a round of talks between Syrian officials and Free Syrian Army representatives next week.