In 2018, India and Russia had inked a $ 5.43 billion contract for the long-range surface-to-air missile systems

Russia has started supplying S-400 air defence missile systems to India and the first division will be delivered by the end of 2021.

“Russia has started supplying S-400 air defence system to India, the first division will be delivered by the end of 2021,” Director of Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugaev was quoted as saying during the Dubai air show on Sunday.

The supplies are proceeding on schedule, he added, according to news reports.

Earlier, in 2018, India and Russia had inked a $ 5.43 billion contract for the long-range surface-to-air missile systems S-400 Triumf ‘SA-21 Growler’ for the Indian Air Force.

According to an earlier report, India is set to get the first regiment set of S-400 Triumf ‘SA-21 Growler’ air defense systems, out of the five regiment kits as inked in a contract, from Russia by the end of 2021.

The schedule of fulfilling the contract signed between India and Russia about the delivery of S-400 Triumf has been discussed in detail with Indian partners.

The fifth and last set of the missiles is slated to be delivered by the first half of 2025, as per the contract signed between the two countries.

India had bought five units of the system in 2018, and had made the first tranche of the payment, $800 million, a year later.

Manufactured by the Russian government-owned arms company Almaz-Antey, the S-400 missile system has four different types of missiles which range between 40km, 100 km, 200-km, and 400 km.

The S-400 radar can track targets 600km away and will empower the Air Defense of the IAF. All the men and the women who will be operating the system will be trained in Moscow.