IAF Completes S-400 Missile Defense System Trials, Contractual Negotiations To Begin

The Indian Air Force has completed trials of Russian S-400 air defense missile systems. Price negotiations are likely to start soon.

"The field evaluation trials of the Russian air defence system have been completed by the Indian Air Force in Russia and they have been quite successful. The trials were conducted on two separate occasions and it performed to the satisfaction of the users," government sources were quoted as saying by Mail Today on Wednesday.

The defense ministry is likely to start the process of initiating contractual negotiations with Rosoboronexport including price, the sources said.

India and Russia signed an inter-governmental agreement on the sale of five S-400 in October 2016 at the 17 India-Russia summit for $5.8 billion.

In October 2015, India had decided to purchase the S-400 systems, which primarily have three kinds of missiles, with different capabilities. The missiles can fly at supersonic and hypersonic speeds to intercept all kinds of targets at ranges from 120 to 400-km.

The S-400 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system can "radar lock and shoot down" stealth fifth-generation fighters like the American F-35 jets.

The Russian missile system would be used by the IAF, along with the other new air defence systems coming up in the country including the India-Israel joint venture Medium range-Surface to Air Missile system and the SPYDER systems that India recently acquired from Israel.