Indian Air Power Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh has confirmed that the service’s newly procured S-400 lengthy vary air defence techniques are capable of interact enemy plane over excessive distances, and demonstrated this functionality throughout clashes with Pakistani forces in early Might. The S-400 shot down “one giant plane, which could possibly be an ELINT plane or an AEW&C plane, which was taken out from a distance of about 300km,” he noticed, noting that this was “the largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we are able to discuss.” Though the S-400 first entered service within the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2007 geared up with 48N6E3 surface-to-air missiles, which offered a 250 kilometre engagement vary, the system’s most engagement vary was prolonged to 400 kilometres within the late 2010s because of the integration of the 40N6. The distinctive missile class offers capabilities that no non-Russian system is thought to have. The reported 300 kilometre vary kill makes it virtually sure that India has been delivered the 40N6.
The event of the 40N6 confronted considerably delays, and whereas its service entry in each China and Russia within the late 2010s was confirmed, it remained unknown whether or not the missiles has been bought to the S-400’s different operators together with Belarus, Algeria and Turkey. The missile’s deployment by the Indian Air Power considerably constrains Pakistan’s strategic depth, and permits for the focusing on of plane in any respect altitudes deep into hostile territory by the six S-400 battalions meant to be deployed close to Pakistani territory. The 40N6 achieves a really lengthy focusing on vary over the earth’s curvature by utilizing focusing on information both from ahead deployed floor primarily based radars, or from airborne radars reminiscent of these on Indian Air Power Su-30MKI fighters. The missile’s two half trajectory first sees it ascend to altitudes above the Armstrong Restrict at near 30,000 meters, earlier than descending utilizing this focusing on information to strike plane at altitudes between 30,000 metres and 5 meters off the bottom.
The 40N6 is nicely suited to being utilised alongside India’s A-50 airborne early warning and management (AEW&C) techniques and Su-30MKI fighters because of the significantly giant and highly effective airborne radars they deploy, which permit them to ‘peer’ far into Pakistani airspace to information the missiles to their targets. With the Indian Defence Ministry at present contemplating procuring Russian Su-57 fifth era fighters, which mix extra superior sensors with stealth capabilities, these might severely additional improve the utility of 40N6 missiles within the Indian arsenal. The Russian Aerospace Forces have used 40N6 missiles to focus on Ukrainain plane, and are confirmed to have paired them with A-50 AEW&Cs to extend their utility. Stories of the missiles’ use within the Ukrainian theatre started to floor in late 2023, with assessments of the shootdown of a Ukrainain F-16 in April 2025 indicating that had been achieved utilizing the missiles.
The S-400’s service entry has been considerably extra revolutionary for Indian air defence capabilities than it has for different international purchasers, on account of each the a lot bigger numbers which were ordered, and on account of the truth that the nation’s surface-to-air missile capabilities had been beforehand very restricted. A $5.43 billion contract for ten battalions’ value of S-400s was signed in October 2018, making India by far its largest international shopper, with Delhi continuing with the deal regardless of super Western strain and threats of American financial sanctions. The Indian authorities harshly condemned Western efforts at coercion over the difficulty, slamming threats of sanctions as illegitimate and unlawful, and was broadly seen by analysts to have successfully known as Washington’s bluff over such threats for the reason that promised sanctions had been by no means imposed.
The primary regiment’s value of S-400s delivered to India was deployed close to its western border with Pakistan in December 2021, with a second regiment’s value delivered the next 12 months stationed close to the northern border with China. It stays unsure whether or not 40N6 missiles had been delivered from 2021, or at a later date. Unconfirmed studies of Indian curiosity within the Russian S-500 lengthy vary air defence system might result in additional procurements of the 40N6 missile, which is utilized by each techniques, though the S-500 additionally has entry to longer ranged missiles with 600 kilometre engagement ranges.
The perceived significance of the S-400 for India’s air defence has grown each on account of its reportedly excellent efficiency towards Pakistani air energy throughout clashes in early Might, and because of the extreme underperformance of India’s Rafale fighter plane procured from France, which noticed between one and 4 shot down reportedly by newly equipped Chinese language J-10C fighters. With the competitiveness of European fighter plane having lengthy been in critical query, India’s lack of serious latest procurements of excessive efficiency non-European fighters such because the F-18E/F provided by america, or the Su-57 provided by Russia, has left it closely reliant on the S-400 to counterbalance the rising superiority of Pakistan’s fighter fleet. The vary of the 40N6 offers an efficient technique of partaking excessive worth help plane at ranges over which non-Russian air defence techniques wouldn’t have the ability to goal them.
