S-400 air defence systems

Why in news?

• Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India early next month, Moscow has started deliveries of S-400 air defence systems to India.

About S-400 air defence systems:

• S-400 Triumf is an anti-aircraft missile defense system developed in the 1990s by Russia's Almaz Central Design Bureau
• It has been in service with the Russian Armed Forces since 2007.
• China was the first foreign buyer to make a government-to-government deal with Russia in 2014, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India and Belarus have all acquired, or expressed interest, in the system since
• The S-400 Missile System comes with integrated multifunction radar with autonomous detection and targeting systems.
• The system can engage all types of aerial targets including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and ballistic and cruise missiles within the range of 400km, at an altitude of up to 30km.
• The system can track 100 airborne targets and engage six of them simultaneously.

Deployment in India:

• In October 2018, India and Russia signed a USD 5.43 billion deal for five S-400 regiments despite objections from the United States and the threat of sanctions under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
  • CAATSA includes provisions that empowers U.S. President to impose sanctions on any nation with ‘significant transactions’ with Russian defence industry.
• However, India plans to deploy the 1st regiment of S-400 by April 2022.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

‘S-400 Triumf, recently seen in news, refers to:

(a) India's indigenous anti-missile programme

(b) An Israeli radar system

(c) An anti-aircraft missile defense system developed by Russia

(d) A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea

Answer