NEW DELHI, February 6. /TASS/. The delivery of the third batch of S-400 air defense systems to India will be completed shortly, Russia’s Ambassador in New Delhi Denis Alipov said on Monday.
"On S-400 I can say, the third part of supplies will be completed in the very near future." the ambassador said at the conference: "Next Steps in India-Russia Strategic Partnership" dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the friendship treaty signed between the two countries.
The head of the Russian diplomatic mission stressed that "both sides have been committed to completion of the whole of the contract. We certainly will do that. Nothing prevents that," Alipov said.
New Delhi announced its intention to purchase Russian-made S-400 air defense systems in 2015. A $5.43 bln contract on the delivery of five regiment sets of S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in October 2018.
Russia’s S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the latest long-and medium-range surface-to-air missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons and can also be used against ground installations. The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of up to 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km under intensive enemy fire and jamming.
CEO of Russia’s state arms seller Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheyev earlier told journalists that the company was successfully implementing the contract on the delivery of S-400 air defense systems to India and all the five S-400 regiment sets would arrive in the country by the end of 2023.