PAF Destroys Indian S-400 System: What Is It and How Did India Acquire It?
🔴 Pakistan Air Force has reportedly destroyed India’s advanced S-400 missile system stationed at Adampur Airbase, inflicting billions of dollars in damage.
New Delhi: According to reports, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) successfully targeted and destroyed the Russian-made S-400 air defense system at the Indian Air Force base in Adampur, Punjab. The estimated cost of the system is said to be around $1.5 billion.
Indian media sources claim that after acquiring the S-400 from Russia, India deployed the system across its northern, western, and eastern sectors, primarily for defense against Pakistan and China.
Though exact deployment details remain classified, one S-400 regiment is believed to have been stationed in northwestern Punjab for operations against Pakistan.
Following the Pahalgam incident, Indian media reported that India had activated the S-400 to counter potential missile or air attacks from Pakistan.
What Is the S-400 Missile System?
The S-400 is an advanced version of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system, developed by Russia’s defense company NPO Almaz in the 1990s. It received official approval in April 2007 and began active duty in August that year.
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Russia is now working on a more advanced successor — the S-500.
Capabilities of the S-400
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The system can be deployed and activated within 5 minutes.
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It is capable of intercepting aerial threats at a range of 400 km and up to 30 km altitude, including fighter jets, drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
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It can track 300 targets simultaneously and engage 36 of them at once.
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The system uses four types of missiles:
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40N6E (400 km range)
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48N6E3 (250 km)
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9M96E2 (120 km)
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9M96E (40 km)
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Equipped with 360-degree surveillance, the S-400 can detect stealth aircraft using radar systems like the 96L6E. It can also integrate with other systems like the S-300, TOR, and Pantsir.
How Did India Acquire the S-400?
India signed a $5.43 billion deal with Russia in October 2018 for five S-400 regiments. So far, three have been delivered, with the remaining two expected by August 2026, delayed due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
India has reportedly deployed the S-400 as follows:
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Punjab (northwest): For defense against Pakistan
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Arunachal Pradesh and Assam (northeast): To counter China near the Line of Actual Control (LAC)
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Rajasthan (west): Also aimed at Pakistan
India is also developing its own long-range air defense system under the “Project Kusha,” designed to intercept long-range surface-to-air missiles (LR-SAMs).
Though often compared to Israel’s Iron Dome, the Indian S-400 system has now reportedly suffered a significant blow with the destruction of one of its regiments amid rising Pakistan-India tensions.
