India to get fourth S-400 missile unit from Russia next month

India is expected to receive the fourth unit of the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system from Russia in the first part of next month. This induction is expected to further enhance the country’s air defence, sources in the security establishment said on Tuesday.

In October 2018, India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to procure five units of the missile systems, and three of them have already been delivered. The fifth unit of the missile will be delivered by November under an updated timeline for supplying the weapon system. The S-400 missile systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor.

Last month, New Delhi cleared the procurement of a fresh batch of five S-400 missile systems from Russia that will take the total number to 10.

It is learnt that the fourth unit of the missile system has already been shipped, and it is expected to reach India in the next few days.

India had signed the deal for procurement of the S-400 missiles over seven years back, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

India is not expecting any possible hindrance from US sanctions as the new procurement will be a “follow-on” order of the previous order, sources said.

The missile systems were used extensively by the Indian Air Force (IAF) during the May 7-10 military conflict with Pakistan.

Weeks after the conflict, a proposal was made to procure another batch of the S-400 missiles. Russia has already trained a group of Indian personnel to operate the missile systems. The S-400 is known as Russia’s most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.