Indian Air Force Commander Amar Preet Singh stated that the Russian S-400 "Triumph" anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) played an important role in protecting the country during the conflict with Pakistan on May 7–10. This is according to The Military Watch Magazine.
According to him, the S-400 complexes "changed the rules of the game."
Thanks to the long range of the SAM system, enemy aircraft could not get close enough to use air-to-surface missiles, as well as long-range glide bombs.
The commander stated that the destruction of 5 fighters and one large aircraft, possibly an AWACS, has been confirmed. The latter was shot down from a distance of about 300 km.
The range of 300 kilometers confirms assumptions that the Indian S-400s are equipped with long-range 40N6 missiles. The missiles use guidance data from the radar of the complex itself, or from the onboard radar of the Su-30MKI fighter.
The author of The Military Watch Magazine suggested that in the future, India may purchase other high-class air defense systems from Russia, including the S-500 "Prometheus" system. The new generation SAM system is designed to engage strategic targets and has a range of 600 km.
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