Russia says remaining two S-400 squadrons will be delivered by 2026-27 | India News

NEW DELHI: Russia on Thursday assured India it will ship the two remaining squadrons of the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile methods, which performed an important position throughout Operation Sindoor in opposition to Pakistan final month, by 2026-27.The supply of the fourth and fifth squadrons of the S-400 air defence methods, which has been massively delayed because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, figured within the bilateral assembly between defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov on the side-lines of the SCO defence ministers’ meet at Qingdao in China, sources informed TOI.“We had insightful deliberations on boosting India-Russia defence ties,” Singh posted on `X’. Under the $5.43 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) contract inked with Russia in 2018, India was slated to get all of the 5 squadrons by end-2023.Each S-400 squadron has two missile batteries with 128 missiles every, with interception ranges of 120, 200, 250 and 380-km, in addition to long-range acquisition and engagement radars and all-terrain transporter-erector automobiles.The IAF has deployed the primary three S-400 squadrons in north-west and east India to cater for each China and Pakistan. “As per Russia, the fourth squadron will now come next year, and the fifth in 2027,” a supply mentioned.During the extreme cross-border hostilities with Pakistan from May 7 to 10, Pakistan had claimed it efficiently bombed the Adampur air-base and destroyed a S-400 battery deployed there.But PM Narendra Modi visited the air-base on May 13, and posed with an all-terrain transporter-erector-launcher automobile of the S-400 system within the background to reject the declare.The S-400 batteries, which might detect and destroy hostile strategic bombers, jets, spy planes, missiles and drones at a variety of 380-km, represent the outermost layer of India’s built-in air defence system and is absolutely plugged into the IAF’s built-in air command and management system (IACCS). The DRDO, on its half, can also be creating an air defence system with a 350-km interception vary beneath the bold Project Kusha. With the defence ministry in Sept 2023 approving the “acceptance of necessity” for the procurement of 5 of its squadrons for the IAF at a value of Rs 21,700 crore, India plans to operationally deploy this technique by 2028-2029, as was first reported by TOI.