India is considering acquiring 5 additional S-400 batteries, prompting Russia to work on completing an 8-year-old contract delayed by the war within this year.
After an 8-year wait, India has received its fourth battery of Russian S-400 air defense systems. This might seem surprising given the constant losses from Ukrainian drones and the Russian military’s shortage of air defense capabilities to counter long-range UAVs.
As reported by ANI, citing its own sources, the system arrived a few days ago. It is emphasized that the final, fifth battery will be delivered to the Indians in the coming months.
From Defense Express, we note that this indeed indicates Russia’s desire to finalize the contract for 5 S-400 systems signed back in 2018 within this year. The first three systems were received relatively on time, while the delivery of the fourth was planned for 2022 and was delayed due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Again, one should not be surprised by the enthusiasm of the Indians, who are pleased with both the reinforcement of their own air defense and consider this Russian air defense system an effective tool. There are claims of good results during the “Sindhur” operation against Pakistan, but both sides of the conflict cite exaggerated data.
What is more interesting here is that despite the constant losses of Russian anti-aircraft systems due to Ukrainian drones and the inability to prevent “deep strikes,” the S-400s are being exported. However, this might actually make sense.
Indeed, these air defense systems are not very effective against low-flying attack drones, whereas the sale guarantees funds that can be both “misappropriated” and used for the development of the military-industrial complex and the procurement of more suitable systems for such tasks. The latter could include the “Pantsir,” which are even being installed on civilian buildings in Moscow.
Another reason could be the desire to retain a client. Russia wants to export more of its military-industrial products, so it prioritizes fulfilling existing foreign contracts to enable further supplies. This includes additional S-400s, of which India reportedly wants to purchase 5 more batteries.
Overall, it has been observed before that the Russians supply tanks and armored vehicles abroad despite the needs of their own military, such as to Libya. Therefore, it is quite likely that such deals will continue to appear.