NewsRescue
According to ANI news agency, India is working on a $2.5 billion initiative to construct an indigenous air defense system capable of neutralizing hostile aircraft and missiles at a distance of 400 kilometers (248 miles). Both India and its neighbor China currently have S-400 sophisticated air defense systems provided by Russia.
According to the article, India’s three-layered long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) defense system will be able to knock down enemy aircraft and missiles at a 400-kilometer range, and the defense ministry is expected to approve the project soon.
If implemented properly, India might join an elite group of countries that include the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, and China.
To secure its frontiers, India plans to deploy the LRSAM defense system against its nuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan and China. The proposed three layers of surface-to-air missiles in the indigenous missile system will allow it to hit enemy targets at diverse ranges with speed and accuracy.
Despite rising US pressure, Russia supplied the first squadron of S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile defense systems to India only a year and a half ago. So far, India has received three squadrons of S-400 air defense systems as part of a $5.43 billion contract negotiated with Russia in 2018.
The first two systems were delivered to India in December 2021 and April 2022, respectively, and the third was delivered in early March of current year. The remaining squadrons should arrive in India by the end of this year or early in 2024. According to reports earlier this year, the deliveries were hampered by payment complications connected to US-led Western sanctions against Russia.
Alexander Mikheyev, CEO of Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport, had told TASS that the deal for the delivery of S-400 air-defense systems to India was being carried out effectively.
The first S-400 system was deployed in Punjab, India’s northern province, to counter air threats from China and Pakistan. The second system was installed in West Bengal, in the country’s northeastern area known as the chicken’s neck. The third squadron has been sent to western Rajasthan, near Pakistan’s Sindh state.
China, too, has purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system, and was the weapon’s first overseas buyer in 2014. Meanwhile, Beijing has created homegrown versions of the surface-to-air missile, known as the HQ-9 family, based on the Soviet-era S-300. However, its greatest engagement range is approximately 200 kilometers. Pakistan has purchased these systems from China.
