Narendra Modi has praised the air defense systems performance in his countrys military standoff with Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the prowess of the country's air defenses on Tuesday, particularly noting the performance of its Russian-made S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile systems.

In an interaction with soldiers at the Adampur air base in northwest India, Modi said that during India's recent military operation against Pakistan, codenamed Operation Sindoor, a combination of well-trained manpower and the right technology had helped the armed forces perform well.

"Platforms like the S-400 have given unprecedented strength to the country," Modi said in an address to the soldiers, while standing in front of the Russian-made air defense system. "A strong security shield has become the identity of India."

On May 7, New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor, a series of missile strikes against suspected militant facilities in Pakistan and Islamabad-administered Kashmir, in response to a terrorist attack in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in April which claimed 26 civilian lives.

In response to the Indian strikes, Pakistan attacked air bases including Adampur, where an S-400 system is operated from.

Adampur was targeted by Pakistan on May 10, according to reports. At that time, Pakistan's state-run television channel PTV said its JF-17 fighter jets fired hypersonic missiles which destroyed the Indian base, including the S-400 air defense system. Indian military officials, however, were quick to refute these claims as false.

Defense analysts have praised the Indian government's decision to buy the S-400, as it successfully negated the Pakistani attacks. The systems were acquired from Russia in 2016 at a cost of $5.4 billion, in defiance of a US threat to impose sanctions.

During Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2021 visit to India, New Delhiconfirmedthe delivery of five of the surface-to-air systems.

Following the successful use of the S-400 during Operation Sindoor, India has formally approached Russia with a request for additional units, India Today TV has reported, citing sources in the defense ministry.

Media reports have also indicated that Russia has offered joint production of the S-500 system with India. The S-500 would have a range of 600 kilometers, compared to 400 for the S-400, a response time of under 4 seconds (under 10 seconds for S-400) and could reach altitudes up to 200 kilometers (30 kilometers for S-400).

(RT.com)