Russia to deliver two more S-400 units to India during 2025-26
New Delhi: Russia is committed to delivering two more units of the S-400 air defence system, which was used in recent hostilities with Pakistan, to India by 2025-26, Russian deputy chief of mission Roman Babushkin said on Monday.
India finalised a $5.43-billion deal with Russia in 2018 for five S-400 units and three have been delivered so far. Deliveries of the systems, which can engage multiple aerial threats at long ranges, were affected by Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
Babushkin told the media on the margins of an event organised by the Russian embassy to mark the Day of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) that the delivery of the two remaining S-400 units is on track and is expected to be completed by 2025-26.
'We heard that the S-400 performed very efficiently during the recent clashes between India and Pakistan. We have a long history of collaboration,' he said.
'The air defence systems - according to what we are experiencing, the situation in Europe and here - this is one of the promising topics of our partnership in defence preparation in general.'
Reports have suggested that India used the S-400 to counter missiles and drones launched by Pakistan during four days of intense clashes that followed the launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7 to target terrorist infrastructure in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. The clashes ended with the two countries reaching an understanding on halting military actions on May 10.
Babushkin also pointed to the possibility of expanding bilateral cooperation in air defence and anti-drone systems. 'We are open to the promotion of this partnership [and] the expansion of dialogue on air defence systems,' he said, highlighting the importance of such cooperation in the current global security environment.
Speaking on the growing threat of drones, particularly in light of their extensive use during the India-Pakistan clashes, Babushkin pointed to Russia's experiences in countering unmanned aircraft.
'We are facing this threat for several years already and I think that our systems are being modernised constantly. I think [there] would be joint interest from both sides [on] how to counter this threat and [this could] lead to some other cooperation,' he said, adding anti-drone systems are already part of the India-Russia defence dialogue.
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