The first delivery of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems was made in November, 2021 and on December 21, 2021, India started deploying the first squadron in the Punjab sector. Actually, India signed a 5.43 billion dollars deal with Russia for the purchase of five squadrons of S-400 during the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi in October, 2018, for long-term security needs. The system will take care of aerial threats from both Pakistan and China. Thereafter, the Indian Air Force would start focusing on the Eastern borders. S-400 would serve the Indian Air Force for its long-range air defence requirements, and could constrain the enemy’s air operations from within their own airspace. India is slated to receive all its five units by April, 2023. Indian personnel have also been trained in Russia to use the system.
About S-400 System
The Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system is considered to be one of the most advanced and potent air defence systems in the world. This missile system has the capacity to provide protection against almost all sorts of aerial attacks. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has named S-400 as SA-21 Growler. It has been developed by Russia’s Almaz Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering as an upgrade of S-300 family. The S-400 has the capacity to engage intruding aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles rockets, fighter jets, etc. It has an anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) device, designed to protect military, political, and economic assets from aerial attacks.
Russia has been developing the S-400 since 1993. The testing of this missile was done during 1999–2000 and it was deployed in the Russian military in 2007. The S-400 is equipped with four types of missiles: short-range up to 40 km; medium-range up to 120 km; long-range up to 250 km; and very-long-range up to 400 km. It has the capability to simultaneously track up to 160 objects within a range of 600 km, and can target 72 objects within a range of 400 km.
Each unit consists of two batteries, having each a command-and-control system, a surveillance radar, an engagement radar, and four launch trucks.
It has the potential to detect an aerial threat which is approaching the area it has to protect. It then calculates the trajectory of the threat and fires missiles to counter it. With its long-range surveillance radars, it sends information to the command vehicle. On identifying the target, the command vehicle orders a missile launch. S-400 has better capacity to protect a much larger area from threats than the Iron Dome, used by Israel during its war against Gaza in May, 2021.
Importance of S-400 to India’s Defence System
India signed this deal to protect itself against attacks by missiles or fighter jets from China or Pakistan. When compared with the American MIM-104 Patriot system, which is primarily oriented towards missile defence with less focus on the pure anti-aircraft role, S-400 is better placed with regard to its accuracy and cost. The battery of S-400 costs approximately US$ 500 million as compared to Patriot’s US$ 1 billion.
Several nations, including Belarus, Algeria, Turkey, and China have procured S-400. China procured them in 2018. During the standoff in eastern Ladakh, in May 2020, China had reportedly deployed its S-400 along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
US’ Concern over the Deal
The acquisition of S-400 from Russia by India could cause a diplomatic estrangement between the US and India. This deal with Russia has happened at a time when India and US are on a path to a tighter relationship.
In January 2021, the US even threatened sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), 2017. The US wants India to stop relying on Russian defence systems because India has inched closer to the US diplomatically and strategically. Also, the imports from the US have gone up largely at the cost of Russian imports. However, despite the threat of sanctions India pushed ahead with the deal in order to have better surveillance and protection for its borders. India clarified its stand to the US stating that India was a sovereign country and had always pursued an independent foreign policy which also applied for the defence acquisitions and supplies, guided by their national security interests.
India-Russia Relations
Russia has been the largest defence partner for India over the decades. According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on the trends in international arms transfer, the arms imports by India decreased by 33 per cent between 2011–15 and 2016–20, Russia remained the largest supplier of arms to India in 2011-15 and in the next half decade from 2016-20. However, Russia’s arms deliveries dropped by 53 per cent between 2011–15 and 2016–20. Russia’s share of total Indian arms imports fell from 70 to 49 per cent. Between 2011 and 2015, the US was the second largest supplier of arms to India. Nevertheless, between 2016 and 2020, India’s arms imports from the US were 46 per cent lower than 2011–15 and the US dropped down to the fourth largest supplier to India in 2016–20.
CAATSA was passed to counter American rivals, such as Iran, Russia, and North Korea through punitive measures but it does not have a blanket or country-specific waiver provision. Title II of CAATSA deals with sanctions in Russian interests, including its defence industry. The CAATSA gives power to the US President to impose at least five of the 12 listed sanctions mentioned under its Section 235, on those who engage in a ‘significant transaction’ with Russian defence and intelligence sectors. Accordingly, the US imposed sanctions on Turkey, a longstanding a NATO ally, in 2020 over the latter’s purchase of S-400 from Russia.
The US has not made a determination on a potential waiver of sanctions against India and two of the US senators have reportedly written to the President Joe Biden of the US, urging his administration to waive any sanctions against India over the purchase.
Now as the delivery has begun, it remains to be seen what action, if any, the US takes, especially as it has made the Indo-Pacific its main area of focus to counter China’s rise.
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