New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India on Thursday on a two-day visit which will witness the signing of a $5 billion deal for India to procure Russia’s most advanced air defence systems, the S-400 Triumf.
As India wants to procure the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the nearly 4,000-km-long India-China border, S-400 Triumf seems to be the best solution.
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What is the S-400?
The Russian built S-400 Triumf is considered as the world’s most dangerous operationally deployed modern long-range surface-to-air missile system and is said to be much more effective than the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system developed by the US.
The S-400 is a mobile system that integrates a multifunction radar, autonomous detection and targeting systems, anti-aircraft missile systems, launchers, and a command and control centre. It can be deployed within five minutes and is capable of firing three types of missiles to create a layered defence.
It can engage all types of aerial targets including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and ballistic and cruise missiles within a range of 400 km, at an altitude of up to 30 km. It can simultaneously track 100 airborne targets, including super fighters such as the US-built F-35, and engage six of them at the same time.
The S-400 was made operational in 2007 and is responsible for defending Moscow. In 2015 it was deployed in Syria to guard Russian and Syrian naval and air assets.
The US administration is required under a domestic law – Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act or CAATSA – to impose sanctions on any country that has “significant transactions” with Iran, North Korea or Russia.
Vladimir Putin and PM Modi will also discuss key regional and global issues, including US sanctions on the import of Iranian crude oil.