S-400 missiles capable to attack China, says Russia signing five squadrons to India
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Russia, March 30: Following the signing of India with Russia for the procurement of five S-400 squadrons to boost the Indian air defense, Russia stated that S-400 missiles have the capability to attack China after a drill was conducted where these missiles successfully targeted hypersonic missiles and stealth jets which are an important part of China's arsenal.
The statement came after a training session was held where S-400 missiles had successfully targeted hypersonic missiles at the Telemba training range in Buryatia. The anti-aircraft gunners also fired from Pantsyr-S2 surface-to-air systems during the drills. “During the live-fire exercise, over a dozen targets simulated by Armavir target missiles and Favorit smart hypersonic missiles were destroyed. All the targets were hit,” the press office said in a statement.
Both India and Russia had signed a $5.4 billion contract back in 2018 for the S-400 systems during the bilateral summit between two countries. Being one of Russia's most advanced interceptor-based long-range air defense systems, S-400 is arguably the most versatile in the world with over half a dozen types of surface to air missiles each specialized in intercepting different types of the target at different ranges.
Guiding up 160 missiles simultaneously, it can engage targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers and an altitude of up to 30 kilometers hitting 80 targets along with the use of an advanced cold launch system. The targets include various combinations of ballistic and cruise missiles and all types of manned and unmanned aircraft.
The reason it is the most demanding missile is that it has advanced capabilities against stealth aircraft and now hypersonic weapons. The missiles can easily take down the advanced next-generation jets fielded by China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force such as the Chengdu J-20 as well as the upcoming Pakistani stealth fighter being developed with China under Project AZM.
"Russia is now ready to train Indian specialists to operate the missile", Vladimir Drozhzhov, deputy director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, announced on February 5.
After the purchase of this missile, India will be now the largest operator of the system other than Russia, however, India is expected to require more of these missile specialists. Belarus and China each operate two battalions of the S-400, while the number of systems operated by Algeria which is also considered to operate them is thought to be similar. Turkey is also expected to operate two battalions. The number of S-400s in Indian service will thus be more than double that of any other export client.
On the other hand, India has already paid for these missiles in advance. “The advance payment has been made. I don’t want to specify an exact figure, but there is an advance payment. We have launched production and the work is underway, and everything will be implemented as scheduled. The contract will be fulfilled by 2025,” said the head of Rostec, Sergey Chemezov.
Last year speaking about the missiles Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying a summit of BRICS countries in Brazil, “As far as the S-400 deliveries are concerned, everything is going according to plan. Our Indian colleagues have not asked to speed anything up, it’s all going fine."
It has not been publicly disclosed what missiles Russia will deliver to India along with the transporter erector launchers (TELs), long-range surveillance radar target acquisition and engagement (fire control) radar systems, and command posts to be delivered.