Ministry of Defence has cleared the deck for the proposed purchase of five advanced S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems from Russia. Despite the US threatening India against economic sanctions, the defence ministry is firm on closing this Rs. 39,000 crore deal.
The defence acquisitions council (DAC), which is the apex body when it comes to taking a decision on defence purchase, approved the "minor deviations" in the mega S-400 deal that had emerged during the recently-concluded commercial negotiations with Russia, The Times of India reported. The meeting was chaired by Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. The file will now move to the finance ministry post. A PM-led Cabinet Committee on Security will take a final call.
Interestingly, The United States is attempting to sway India into considering its missile defence option -- Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) -- to keep itself ahead of Russia.
The DAC meeting was held just a day after the US on Wednesday night cancelled the inaugural "two-plus-two" dialogue between foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Sitharaman with their American counterparts— Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis— which was slated for July 6 in Washington. This was the second time in six months this meeting was cancelled.
In 2015, India had decided to acquire the S-400 missile systems, which can detect, track and destroy hostile strategic bombers, stealth fighters, spy planes, missiles and drones at a range of up to 400 km and altitude of 30 km, in what was being touted as a game-changing military acquisition.
In the following year, the inter-governmental agreement for the five S-400 systems was inked during the Modi-Putin summit at Goa. In order to counter possible US sanctions under its law called CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act) that seeks to deter countries from buying Russian weapons, both the countries are planning a way out.
The Indian Airforce is likely to get the first S-400 squadron, with its battle-management system of command posts and launchers, acquisition and engagement radars, and all-terrain transporter-erector-launcher vehicles, 2 years after the final agreement has been signed.
