NEW DELHI, March 3. /TASS/. The Indian Defense Ministry will soon approve the Indian Air Force’s proposal to purchase five additional squadrons of the S-400 Triumph air defense missile systems from Russia, the ANI news agency reported, citing defense sources.

"The Defense Ministry will soon consider the case to clear the Indian Air Force proposal to buy an additional five squadrons of the Russian air defense missile systems, which will be deployed on both the eastern and western fronts," the sources said.

The S-400 air defense systems demonstrated their effectiveness during India's Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in May 2025, when they shot down up to six Pakistani fighter jets and a reconnaissance aircraft at a range of 300 km.

India signed a $5.43 billion deal in 2018 to purchase five squadrons of Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile systems. India deployed the first S-400 missile system acquired from Russia in the state of Punjab, along the border with Pakistan.

Following the April 22, 2025 terrorist attack in the tourist town of Pahalgam in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, striking terrorist-related targets in Pakistan. The operation involved Russian-made military equipment used by the Indian army.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said later that the country’s air defenses, strengthened by the Russian-made S-400 missile system, had been a key factor in that operation.