YEREVAN, March 29. /TASS/. Russia hopes to ink a deal to deliver its S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to India in 2018, deputy head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Vladimir Drozhzhov told reporters at the ArmHiTec exhibition on Thursday.

"I hope so," he said in response to a question on whether this document will be signed this year.

In January, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said in an interview published on the Indian Defense News portal that negotiations for the contract entered the advanced stage and the parties were hammering out the technical details.

In October 2016, the states clinched an intergovernmental agreement on deliveries of these systems.

Indian Air Force officials earlier informed the country’s parliament it was necessary to purchase Russian anti-aircraft missile systems, emphasizing that these systems will enable India to successfully repel any possible threats from Pakistan or China, according to the news site.

The S-400 Triumf is a Russian long-and mid-range anti-aircraft missile system designed to hit attack and reconnaissance aircraft (including aerial vehicles based on stealth technology) and any other air targets under conditions of intensive enemy fire and electronic countermeasures. As of January 2018, contracts for S-400 deliveries were inked with China and Turkey. In addition, negotiations to sell the systems to Saudi Arabia are underway.