NEW DELHI: India on Saturday announced that it will buy five units of S-400 Triumf air defence systems from Russia, worth nearly $6 billion, which will be a game-changer in the region. It will be the second costliest deal after 36 Rafale fighter jets, which India inked with France last month.
Defence ministry’s top acquisition body headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in December last year had given its nod to Indian Air Force’s ambitious project to buy S-400 Triumf to fill holes in the ageing air defence and patchy radar coverage.
IAF argues that S-400 Triumf system is capable of intercepting and destroying airborne targets at a distance of up to 400 km, and can simultaneously engage up to 36 targets from its six firing pods. Only the US, Russia and China has capability to neutralised aerial strike multiple targets, including ballistic missiles and stealth aircraft from a distance.
IAF has plans to deploy these on western and eastern sector bordering Pakistan and China to counter threats from hypersonic cruise missiles, to UAVs, airborne early warning aircraft, stealth fighters and even precision guided munitions. An IAF officer said, with the capability of S400, entire Pakistan’s air domain can be covered.
It is capable of firing three types of missiles, creating a layered defence. India would be the second customer of the prized missile system after China.
The S-400 is a unique system that incorporates four types of missiles. Carried on mobile launchers, these missiles engage targets at the following ranges—120 km, 200 km, 250 km and 380 km.