India has proceeded to the deployment of the first regimental complex of the Russian anti-aircraft missile system S-400 Triumf (Triumph). The complex will be put on combat duty in early April, The Hindustan Times reported on January 17.
According to the newspaper, the Indian Armed Forces plan to pass into service five S-400 regiments that the country purchased from Russia by the beginning of 2023. All of them will be used to repel air threats from China.
Earlier it was reported that the first regiment of air defense systems will be deployed in the state of Punjab on the western border with Pakistan.
The contract for the supplies of five S-400 Triumph regimental air defense systems worth a total of $5.43 billion was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India in October 2018. This caused serious dissatisfaction in Washington. The US threatens to impose sanctions on the countries that acquire modern weapons and military equipment systems from the Russian Federation, in accordance with the CAATSA law from 2017 (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act).
S-400 Triumf is a Russian anti-aircraft missile system of long and medium range. The system is designed to destroy attack and reconnaissance weapons and any other air targets in conditions of intense fire and electronic countermeasures. The S-400 system is capable of striking aircraft and cruise missiles at ranges of up to 400 kilometres – ballistic targets flying at speeds of up to 4.8 km/s at altitudes up to 30 kilometers.