BANGALORE, February 14. /TASS/. Russia may sign a contract with India by the end of this year on the delivery of S-400 Triumf long-range antiaircraft missile systems, Deputy Director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation Vladimir Drozhzhov told TASS on Tuesday.

"Contractual negotiations are ongoing. That is why, it is still premature to speak about the number of systems that will be delivered. We hope that the contract for the delivery of S-400 Triumf antiaircraft missile systems will be signed until the end of this year," Drozhzhov said.

An inter-governmental agreement on the delivery of S-400 Triumf long-range air defense missile systems to India was signed in October 2016.

China has become the first foreign buyer of Russia’s S-400 antiaircraft missile systems. The sides announced about the signing of the contract in the spring of 2015. According to media reports, the deal was worth about $3 billion.

The S-400 Triumf is the most advanced long-range antiaircraft missile system that went into service in 2007.

It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles, and can also be used against ground objectives.

The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km.