India Deploys First S-400 Regiment in Punjab

The Indian Air Force deployed the first squadron of Russia-made S-400 missile system in the Punjab sector, Indian media reported Monday.

"The first squadron is being deployed in the Punjab sector. The batteries of the first squadron would be capable of taking care of aerial threats from both Pakistan and China," government officials were quoted as saying by ANI news agency.

Foreign secretary Harsh V Shringla announced earlier this month that Russia had started deliveries of the surface-to-air long-range missile system it placed an order for in October 2018 for $5.43 billion. His statement came soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India.

The second regiment of S-400 is expected to reach India by June 2022 next year.

The S-400 can counter rockets, missiles, fighter aircraft and even drone attacks. A regiment has 8 launchers each loaded with 4 missiles. That is, a regiment can fire 32 missiles at a time.

The command centre of this system tracks the aerial threat from a distance of 600 km and then destroys it in the range of 2 km to 400 km. This system can track 80 targets at a time and can destroy them when they come in range. If needed, it can be loaded on the truck and carried forward and even then, it becomes ready for attack in 10 to 15 minutes. When deployed, it becomes ready for retaliation within 3 minutes of receiving the signal. The radar of this system cannot be jammed.