Did Modi inadvertently confirm Pakistan's S-400 claim?
India's Prime Minister Modi posed in front of an S-400 missile launcher during a visit to the Adampur airbase on Tuesday, a move Indian media framed as a 'fact-check' of Pakistan's claim that it had neutralised two of the advanced systems during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
But the photo-op may have inadvertently lent weight to Pakistan's assertion — precisely because of what was missing in the image.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), US-based South Asia expert Christopher Clary noted that while there is still no concrete evidence of Pakistani success against the S-400, Pakistan would be 'at least as likely if not more likely to target the command centre or the radar than they are the launcher' of the air defence system.
I don't think there's any real evidence of Pakistani success against the S-400 but on the other hand presumably Pakistan is at least as likely if not more likely to target the command center or the radar than they are the launcher. Perhaps those systems are in other photos. https://t.co/1yrBmjcQLY — Christopher Clary (@clary_co) May 13, 2025
In a subsequent post, he shared photos of an S-400 command and control centre destroyed in the Ukraine war, alongside two radar vehicles commonly paired with the system.
For people with more time than I have today, here is a 2023 photo of a reported S-400 command and control center destroyed in the Ukraine war and here is a photo of two different styles of radar vehicles previously associated with the S-400. pic.twitter.com/XLUk9lXpwv — Christopher Clary (@clary_co) May 13, 2025
The S-400 Triumph, known by NATO as the SA-21 Growler, is a long-range, surface-to-air missile system developed by Russia's Almaz-Antey.
According to a TRT World Research Centre explainer, the system is designed to detect and destroy aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. A 2021 research paper titled 'India's Acquisition of the S-400 Air Defence System', published in the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, states that each S-400 system includes two batteries.
Each battery comprises a command-and-control unit, one surveillance radar, one engagement radar, and four launch trucks referred to as 'transporter–erector–launchers.'
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