India and Russia share an excellent bilateral relationship and the delivery of the first regiment set of S-400 Triumf system will further strengthen the ties

India will get the first regiment set of S-400 Triumf ‘SA-21 Growler’ air defense systems, out of the five regiment kits as inked in a contract, from Russia by the end of 2021.

The schedule of fulfilling the contract signed between India and Russia about the delivery of S-400 Triumf has been discussed in detail with Indian partners.

The fifth and last set of the missiles is slated to be delivered by the first half of 2025, as per the contract signed between the two countries.

In 2018, India and Russia had inked a $ 5.43 billion contract for the long-range surface-to-air missile systems S-400 Triumf ‘SA-21 Growler’ for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Manufactured by the Russian government-owned arms company Almaz-Antey, the S-400 missile system has four different types of missiles which range between 40km, 100 km, 200-km, and 400 km.

The S-400 radar can track targets 600km away and will empower the Air Defense of the IAF. All the men and the women who will be operating the system will be trained in Moscow.

It is known that India shares a cordial bilateral relationship with Russia. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Russia in September. It will be his second visit in the year to Russia. Singh had earlier visited the country in June to attend the 75th anniversary of the victory in the 2nd World War.

Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev had welcomed his visit, calling it the “true manifestation of Russian-Indian camaraderie.”

India and Russia have extended the agreement for mutual military and technical operation by ten years and will expire in 2030 as announced last year.

The two countries have also entered into a joint venture to manufacture Kamov Ka-226T light utility helicopters. These helicopters will be the main light utility helicopters for IAF once they take off.




Read the complete report in Financial Express