Russia to deliver S-400 missile system to India by end of 2021, says Almaz-Antey CEO

Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, the deputy CEO of the air and space defence concern Almaz-Antey, said on Monday that Russia will be starting the delivery of surface-to-air missile defence system (SAM) S-400 by end of this year. Dzirkaln was at the International Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2021" and confirmed the deal between the two countries, "I can confirm that we will deliver [the S-400 system to India] by the end of 2021 in accordance with the schedule and contractual obligations of the Russian side.”

He gave further details of the contract and said that the Indian military personnel training was already underway to operate the S-400. Dzirkaln said, "As for the training, the first group of Indian specialists have completed the training. The second group is undergoing training. I would not talk about the number of people but it is a sufficient number for the Indian armed forces to effectively operate our equipment. I would like to say that the results are shown by the first group of Indian specialists after the training was very high. I would like to note the [high] level of training of Indian specialists.” India and Russia signed this deal for five S-400 regiments worth USD 5.43 billion in October 2018.

US' insecurity over the deal between India and Russia

India’s deal with the Russian warfare developer went ahead even though the American Government openly objected to the deal. The US did not sanction India but a similar deal between the Russians and the Turks cost Istanbul as they were punished under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and were removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The US does not approve of its allies purchasing the powerful S-400 system because they are aware of the strong air defence system of the Russian military. According to American military experts, the radar used by the Russian air defence can detect high-end stealth jets like the US F-35. Earlier in July, the outgoing US Ambassador Kenneth Juster asked the Indian government to reconsider its decision to strike a deal with the Russian firm. He warned saying that such purchases by India could damage the future military and technological relationships between India and the US.

(With ANI inputs)