Parwinder Sandhu
New Delhi, Nov 29 (UNI) Dubbed a ‘game changer’ in India’s air defence system, the S-400 missile system is expected to feature prominently in talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov during President Vladimir Putin’s high-profile visit to India on December 4-5.
Under a deal signed in 2018 (worth USD 5.43 billion), India had placed an order for five S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. While three of these have already been delivered and deployed at various locations, the remaining two are expected to be brought by next year.
During Operation Sindoor launched by India against the terror hubs based in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh had hailed the S-400 as a game changer as it neutralised waves of swarm drones and missiles launched by Pakistan.
“Long range-SAM (LR-SAM) that we had bought, S-400, turned out to be a game changer in this. Their long-range radars and missile systems could threaten the enemy aircraft well inside their own territory. So we were able to do something so that they could not operate even in their own territory. Their range was more than the range of their weapons, so they could never even come up to the weapon-release range without being threatened and those who came, had to face damage. So, this was a game-changer,” he had said during the annual meeting of the Air Force Association in September.
Preliminary assessments indicate that New Delhi is expected to press for a fresh procurement of five more S-400 air-defence regiments while simultaneously evaluating the induction of Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 combat aircraft into the Indian Air Force.
Officials are also likely to review the purchase of Russia’s advanced S-500 system, a next-generation platform designed to neutralise ballistic missiles at ranges of around 600 km and engage aerial threats up to 400 km as part of the broader discussions on expanding strategic defence cooperation.
With India all set for the Mission Sudarshan Chakra–an Iron Dome air-defence system–the pace for acquiring the S 400 has gained momentum. On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled the ambitious national security initiative ‘Mission Sudarshan Chakra,’ aimed at safeguarding India’s critical infrastructure over the next decade by advancing indigenous technological development.
Earlier, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan had alluded to India’s forthcoming air defence system, calling it the ‘Golden Dome,’ virtually drawing a parallel with Israel’s Iron Dome.
He described it as an indigenous solution that would serve as both ‘a shield and a sword,’ with the goal of making it operational within the next ten years.
According to the reports, the proposed air defence system is intended to build a resilient framework and operational capabilities for detecting, tracking, and intercepting enemy missiles, drones, and aircraft using both conventional and directed-energy weapons. According to defence officials, the system is expected to incorporate assets like satellites and radar networks where many modern missiles ascend before descending toward their targets.
Notably, under the defence partnership between both countries spanning more than six decades, India’s armed forces possess a wide range of Russian-origin weapon systems.
Beginning with the MiG-21 in the 1960s and expanding through the 1970s and 1980s, Moscow has remained a key player in India’s weapon system. The Indian Army fields multiple Russian-made weapons, including the iconic Kalashnikov assault rifles, Dragunov sniper rifles, and OSV-96 heavy precision rifles, while anti-armour capabilities are bolstered by systems such as the Kornet and Konkurs ATGMs. I
India also employs the NSV heavy machine gun and continues to operate BMP-II infantry fighting vehicles, legacy T-55 pillbox-configured tanks, and frontline T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks.
Its artillery and rocket forces are strengthened by the M-46 field gun and the BM-21 Grad and BM-30 Smerch multi-rocket launchers.
Air-defence units make extensive use of Russian-origin equipment as well, deploying the Shilka self-propelled anti-air gun, the Osa and Pechora surface-to-air missile systems, and the man-portable Strela SAM for low-altitude interception. The Tunguska tracked air-defence system provides additional layered protection for armoured columns.
At the higher end of the technology spectrum, India and Russia jointly developed the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile—now a flagship symbol of Indo-Russian defence cooperation and one of the fastest operational cruise missiles in the world.
