Muristek
New Delhi, April 15
The pressure from the United States (US) notwithstanding, Russia has started delivery of the second regiment of the S-400 air defence missile system to India.
The first regiment was raised in December last year and is stationed at an Indian Air Force base in Punjab, duly tasked to tackle air-borne threats from Pakistan and China. In all, five such missile systems are on order under a $5-billion deal signed in October 2018.
"The Russian supplies of the S400, despite the conflict in Ukraine, have not been hindered and are on as per schedule," a senior defence functionary told The Tribune. The delivery will be completed by the month-end and it is expected to be deployed by June, most likely in the North-East.
Each S-400 system has eight vehicle-mounted launchers. Each launcher has four tubes, allowing the commander on ground to launch four missiles from each launcher. The ground-based radar (monitoring station of the system), power and other systems are all transported on vehicles.
An S-400 missile can take down a hostile aircraft, missile or a UAV at a range between 40 km and 400 km. Each system has its own radar and can track over 100 targets at a distance of 600 km. This allows controllers on ground to choose which target poses a greater threat and needs to be shot down.
During the standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), China had deployed the S-300, a version lower than S-400, facing eastern Ladakh. The deliveries of the S-400 are on even as the US threatens countries of imposing CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) for dealing with Russia. The CATTSA was passed in the US in 2017.