Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Dmitry Shugaev announced the start of deliveries of S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems to India.

According to him, the first division will be transferred to partners by the end of 2021.

“We will supply them with the S-400 division by the end of the year as part of a large contract,” Shugaev said in an interview with RT at the Dubai Airshow - 2021 international air show.

He also noted that in addition to this, Russia and India interact on maritime and land issues.

"Now one of the contracts, which, we hope, will also be signed, concerns the supply of (automatic -

RT

) AK-203 and its production in India," added the interlocutor of RT.

Recall that the Triumphs are supplied to India under a contract signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to this country in October 2018.

In total, India will receive five regimental air defense systems, the production of which began in February 2020.

The deal was valued at $ 5.43 billion. At the same time, as reported by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov, the contract was concluded in rubles.

India became the third buyer of Triumphs after China and Turkey.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

  • AP

  • © Yuri Kadobnov

Recall that the S-400 is a long and medium-range anti-aircraft missile system.

Experts call the Russian complex one of the best in the world.

It was developed by the Almaz-Antey concern to protect important strategic targets from a massive enemy air attack.

"Triumph" is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles in conditions of fire and electronic countermeasures.

The complex is capable of detecting aerodynamic targets at a distance of up to 600 km, and the range of destruction of enemy flying vehicles and missiles is from 1 km to 200-250 km.

"The element of unfair competition"

It is worth recalling that cooperation between Russia and India in the military-technical sphere was criticized in Washington.

After the contract was signed, the White House National Security Council and the US State Department called on their allies and partners not to make deals with Moscow.

Otherwise, as the departments warned, restrictions may be imposed against them under the Counter America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

However, as General Bipin Rawat, who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Indian Army, has emphasized, threats from the United States will not affect New Delhi's policy.

“Yes, we are aware that sanctions may be applied against us, but we are pursuing an independent policy,” Ravat explained.

According to him, India is also interested in the supply of other Russian weapons systems, in particular, in the products of the design bureau of the Russian Helicopters holding - JSC Kamov.

In early November 2021, Indian Ambassador to the Russian Federation Bala Venkatesh Varma spoke about the intentions of the country's authorities to sign new agreements with Moscow in the field of military-technical cooperation at the upcoming Russian-Indian summit, which is scheduled for December.

"A plan of military-technical cooperation for the next decade, 2021-2031, will be announced," TASS quoted Varma as saying.

The diplomat also stressed that Russia "has again become India's main partner in the defense industry."

In support of his words, he compared the amounts of defense contracts between states, starting in 2018.

“In 2018, when I became ambassador to Russia, the total cost of defense contracts between our countries was about $ 2-3 billion a year.

Today their total value reaches about $ 9-10 billion, ”the head of the Indian diplomatic mission said.

Given the expanding cooperation between the two states, Dmitry Shugaev previously assumed that India could become one of the first buyers of the new generation S-500 anti-aircraft missile system after this air defense system is delivered to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

  • US Department of State

  • AP

  • © J. Scott Applewhite

At the same time, Washington is not abandoning its attempts to force India to abandon cooperation with Russia.

For example, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a July interview with The Times of India noted that the American side announced its concerns to New Delhi, recalling the US sanctions capabilities.

At the same time, he clarified that while the United States does not intend to translate its intentions into reality, as, in his words, they "do not want to run ahead."

For his part, Dmitry Shugaev called the US attempts to influence India a manifestation of unfair competition.

“The pressure that the United States is putting on our partners today is unprecedented.

At the same time, all those countries that pursue an independent policy and strive to create independent sources of supplies of weapons and military equipment ... find ways to conduct military-technical cooperation with us, "the FSMTC director told RT.

According to him, today the Russian order book exceeds $ 52 billion "regardless of the pressure of sanctions on certain countries."

Broad perspectives

Meanwhile, even possible restrictions from the United States do not affect the demand for Russian products in the global arms market.

Thus, the general director of Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, said that Russia is now consulting with seven strategic partners on the possible supply of S-400 missile systems.

“During the negotiations, we discuss the necessary completeness, equipment, offer additional tools that improve the security and efficiency of systems,” Mikheev told TASS.

Experts suggest that one of such partners may be Turkey, which in 2019 already received a batch of Triumphs as part of a $ 2.5 billion deal concluded with Russia in 2017.

In particular, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke about this.

At the same time, he noted that no American sanctions can deter Ankara from acquiring the weapons it needs.

“In the future, no one will be able to interfere with which defense systems we acquire, from which country, at what level.

Nobody can interfere with this.

We are the only ones who can make such decisions, ”Erdogan emphasized in an interview with the American television channel CBS.

In addition, as noted by the head of the Turkish Ministry of Defense Hulusi Akar, so far only Russia has been able to meet the needs of Turkey for equipment such as air defense systems.

However, this prospect categorically does not suit the United States, which considers Turkey to be its strategic partner, especially since Ankara is also a NATO member.

The American authorities believe that the presence of the Russian S-400 in Turkey undermines trust between Washington and Ankara, and also damages the security of the North Atlantic alliance.

In this connection, having failed to ensure that the republic abandoned the Triumphs, the United States imposed sanctions against it and excluded it from the program to create the fifth generation F-35 Lightning II fighters.

  • Sending S-400 to Turkey

  • AP

  • © Turkish Defense Ministry

"They like to be friends with Moscow"

Experts believe that the United States is unlikely to give up its attempts to squeeze out its main competitor in the arms market - Russia.

After all, as the head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis Alexander Mikhailov notes, the Triumphs are superior in many respects to the American Patriot air defense systems.

“Patriot's medium-range systems do not provide such advantages as the S-400 in terms of their performance.

After all, Russian complexes cover almost all aerodynamic and ballistic systems.

In addition, they are the only ones in the world that have anti-aircraft missiles capable of shooting down hypersonic targets, ”the analyst explained in a conversation with RT.

Therefore, he noted, India is unlikely to refuse to cooperate with Russia, as it feels the need to upgrade its weapons.

In addition, as the expert recalled, the Asian country already has Russian equipment on its balance sheet, which will require modernization, repairs, for which it is necessary to train personnel.

“Regardless of how India develops cooperation with the Americans, it will not refuse cooperation with Russia.

Moscow traditionally supplies it with aviation, air defense and missile defense systems, and a number of other weapons.

And these prolonged contracts simply cannot be terminated, "says Mikhailov.

The great popularity of Russian weapons among foreign partners of the Russian Federation, in an interview with RT, was also stated by the military observer for TASS, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin.

In his opinion, samples such as the S-400 are traditionally in the spotlight due to their innovation and reliability.

“Complexes S-400 are considered the best in the world today, because they are more efficient, efficient and cheaper in comparison with competitors, as well as easier to operate.

But the main thing is that they can counter any targets, from ballistic, aviation and ending with hypersonic missiles, ”Litovkin explained.

From his point of view, the main advantage of the S-400 over its foreign counterparts is that the Russian missile starts straight up and is already in the air deployed to the target.

“Relatively speaking, one launcher is enough to protect any object without building up a circle of complexes, such as American ones, which start at an angle to the horizon,” the expert said.

In addition, he noted, "Triumph", unlike Patriot, can intercept unmanned objects that fly below a hundred meters.

In addition, the analyst recalled, the United States has always linked the supply of its weapons and military equipment with certain requirements for partners.

“Russia has never put forward any political conditions for the buyers of our weapons.

That is why they love to be friends with Moscow, ”Litovkin summed up.