Russia has submitted a detailed response to India’s tender for five additional S-400 squadrons.
The proposed procurement is estimated to be worth more than ₹50,000 crore.
India has already received four of five S-400 squadrons ordered under the 2018 deal.
The Russian side has submitted a detailed proposal to the Defence Ministry in response to the Indian tender for acquiring five more squadrons of the S-400 Sudarshan long-range air defence systems for the Indian Air Force, news agency ANI reported.
"The Russian response to the Indian tender has been received, and it is being processed at the moment. The project is estimated to cost over Rs 50,000 crore," Defence sources told ANI.
India had cleared the proposal to procure five more S-400 squadrons in March this year, soon after Operation Sindoor. The additional systems are expected to strengthen the country’s layered air defence network, particularly along the eastern and western fronts.
The Indian Air Force is already operating S-400 systems acquired under a 2018 agreement with Russia. Of the five squadrons ordered under that contract, four have been delivered so far. Defence sources told ANI that the fifth and final squadron is now expected to arrive by November this year.
If the fresh contract is finalised, deliveries of the additional squadrons are expected to begin around three years after the agreement is signed.
The S-400 assumed greater significance during Operation Sindoor, when it was deployed as part of India’s air defence network against Pakistani aerial activity.
Western Air Command chief Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra recently told ANI that the system may have carried out one of the longest surface-to-air missile engagements on record when a Pakistan Air Force surveillance aircraft was destroyed at a range of 314 kilometres.
He also said the S-400 was responsible for bringing down several Pakistani fighter aircraft, including Chinese-origin J-10 jets operated by the Pakistan Air Force.
Mishra further claimed that Pakistan had tried to locate India’s S-400 batteries during Operation Sindoor by deploying spies and activating sleeper cells.
India is also expanding the missile stock available for the system and is in the process of acquiring more than 280 additional S-400 missiles.
At the same time, the country is working on an indigenous long-range air defence system under Project Kusha. The programme recently recorded an initial success after engaging a simulated target at a range of around 140 km.
