Russia has started delivering the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system to India, the director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Dmitry Shugaev has said.
“The supplies of the S-400 air defence system to India have started and are proceeding on schedule,” Shugaev told Sputnik ahead of the Dubai Airshow.
The S-400 Triumf air defence missile system will give a major boost to India’s capabilities to take out enemy fighter aircraft and cruise missiles at long range. The Indian Air Force (IAF) will induct the first unit of S-400 systems at a time when India is locked in a standoff with China in the Ladakh sector.
China has already deployed two S-400 squadrons at Ngari Gar Gunsa and Nyingchi airbase in Tibet, across Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh respectively .
The S-400 missile defence system is equipped with four different missiles which can engage enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles, and AWACS planes at 400 km, 250 km, the medium-range 120 km and the short-range 40 km.
Due to tough bargaining and negotiations, India managed to bring down the S-400 price by almost a billion dollars, sources said.
