India Eyes Russian S-400 Missile Defense System

India has plans to acquire Russian new-generation S-400 Triumf air defense missile systems capable of destroying incoming hostile aircraft, stealth fighters, missiles and drones at ranges of up to 400-km.

“The Indian Air Force (IAF)’s proposal to buy about a dozen S-400 long range missile systems from Russia will soon be taken up by the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by the Defense Minister, Manohar Parrikar,” Times of India news daily quoted unnamed sources as saying Sunday.

"The project is at an initial stage at present. But it will be a government-to-government contract when it is finalized, with the S-400 systems being inducted over several years," said a defence ministry source.

Manohar Parrikar is due to visit Russia in December followed by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi- Russian President Vladimir Putin summit in Moscow.

The S-400 uses three different missiles to cover its entire performance envelope. These are the extremely long range 40N6, long range 48N6 and medium range 9M96 missile. Each one has different capabilities.