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NEW DELHI: In a boost for India’s rocket defence capabilities, the long-awaited 4th squadron of the “S-400 Triumf (now called ‘Sudarshan’) aerial defence systems has started arriving successful India from Russia” done the vessel route.“The archetypal batch of the 4th squadron of S-400 has arrived. Once the implicit systems scope here, it volition beryllium deployed,” a root told TOI.The Russian-made S-400 played a cardinal relation successful thwarting the Pakistan-launched missiles during past year’s struggle successful May and had past besides secured the longest-recorded surface-to-air termination of 314 km by bringing down a high-value Pakistan surveillance aircraft.The S-400 aerial defence strategy is portion of the $5 cardinal declaration successful Oct 2018 nether which India was to get 5 S-400 squadrons from Russia, 3 of which arrived 2 years agone and the remaining 2 were delayed owed to the ongoing Ukraine war.
As the 4th S-400 squadron has started arriving successful batches now, the 5th squadron is expected to scope India by Nov.India deploys the earlier 3 squadrons successful strategical sectors similar successful the Punjab-Jammu region, Rajasthan-Gujarat portion and Sikkim assemblage to signifier a triangular protective shield on its occidental and bluish borders. The 4th strategy is besides apt to beryllium deployed successful the occidental sector, keeping successful caput the menace cognition from Pakistan aft past year’s conflict.
A modular squadron consists of 8 to 12 mobile Transporter Erector Launchers (TELs). Each TEL carries 4 rocket tubes, resulting successful 48 ready-to-fire missiles connected the launchers astatine immoderate fixed time. With reloading and enactment vehicles present, a azygous squadron tin collectively tract up to 128 missiles. Each S-400 portion features long-range detection up to 600 km and tin prosecute aggregate aerial threats, including combatant jets, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, astatine varying altitudes and distances.Impressed with S400 show during past year’s conflict, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has already cleared the acquisition of 5 much squadrons of the Russian systems.India is besides moving connected an indigenous programme, codenamed Project Kusha, to make its ain aerial defence systems susceptible of shooting down force drones, missiles and hostile craft astatine antithetic ranges.
