2nd Russia-made S-400 Triumf missile system is on its way to India
By Anish Kumar | First Published Apr 16, 2022, 12:29 PM ISTSeveral parts of the Triumf missile system are on way via both air and sea routes.
Amidst the ongoing war between Moscow and Kyiv over the territorial and eastward expansion of NATO to Ukraine, Russia has commenced sending the second unit of the S-400 air defence system to India.
Sources in the government establishment confirmed the development.
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"The delivery of the second S-400 Triumf missile system is under process," they said.
In December 2021, India received the first unit of the air defence system and has been stationed in the Punjab sector to take on threats from Pakistani and Chinese airspace.
Several parts of the Triumf missile system are on their way via both air and sea routes.
As per the sources, the first squadron that was received in December has been operationalised in the western sector, another source said.
The development comes in view of the United States putting pressure on India for not condemning Russia over its military operation against Ukraine. Washington has on a number of occasions threatened New Delhi to impose the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act if it continued purchasing the defence equipment from Moscow.
However, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had said during the recent 2+2 ministerial dialogue meeting between the two countries in Washington, "We have not made a determination of potential sanctions or waivers under CAATSA."
He had also acknowledged that India and Russia have a "long history and relationship" in the defence equipment trade.
On CAATSA, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated, "It is their legislation and whatever has to be done has to be done by them."
The CAATSA is a domestic law of the US, allowing it to impose sanctions on countries that trade with its adversaries like Iran, North Korea and Russia.
In 2018, New Delhi and Moscow had inked a pact for the procurement of 5 squadrons of S-400 long-range air defence missile systems at a cost of around Rs 35,000 crore.
The S-400 missile system
The system can track a large number of targets at 600 km and can deploy four different kinds of missiles engaging the targets at varying distances.
The system is capable of destroying UAVs, aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles, and other air assault vehicles up to 400 kilometres from a range of 100 ft to 40,000 ft.
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