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."
Due 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 the assumption 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 airborne radar of the Su-30MKI fighter.
The author of The Military Watch Magazine suggested that in the future, India may purchase other high-end 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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