00:00By 2015, India expressed formal interest in the S-400 during bilateral discussions with Russia.
00:07An intergovernmental agreement was signed in 2016 during the BRICS summit in Goa,
00:13where India confirmed its intent to purchase five S-400 regiments.
00:18The request for proposal was issued as part of a government-to-government deal
00:22bypassing a competitive bidding process. The deal was valued at over $5 billion,
00:27making it one of India's most expensive defence acquisitions.
00:34Final negotiations took place over 2017-18, addressing pricing, delivery timelines and local offsets.
00:42The contract was formally signed in October 2018 during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India.
00:50The United States under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act,
00:55that is Katsa, a law passed in 2017 to deter countries from engaging in defence deals with Iran,
01:02North Korea and Russia, warned India of potential economic sanctions if it proceeded with the S-400 deal.
01:11Washington argued that buying the S-400 could compromise the security of US-supplied defence
01:18equipment, like the C-17 Globemaster, Apache helicopters and P-8I surveillance aircraft.
01:25US officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis,
01:31held multiple rounds of talks with their Indian counterparts, urging them to reconsider.
01:36Despite intense lobbying and wheel threats from the US, Manohar Parikar stayed firm, reflecting its independent foreign policy stance.
01:47The S-400 deal became a symbol of India's strategic autonomy and willingness to make decisions aligned with its security needs,
01:57rather than geopolitical pressures.
01:59Deliveries of the S-400 began in late 2021, and units have since been deployed in key regions,
02:08including near the China and Pakistan borders, providing India with a significant deterrent and defence capability.
02:16As tensions between India and Pakistan reached a boiling point,
02:20a wave of missiles and drones streaked across the night sky, targeting key Indian cities and military bases.
02:28But India's airspace held firm, shielded by a technological marvel.
02:34The S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system
02:38The S-400 codenamed Sudarshan Chakra by the Indian Air Force intercepted and neutralised dozens of incoming threats,
02:48saving lives and averting escalation.
02:50Each S-400 unit can simultaneously track 160 targets and engage 72 with missiles capable of striking threats up to 400 kilometres away
03:04and at altitudes up to 30 kilometres.
03:07Its rapid activation and mobility made it the backbone of India's air defence in this crisis.
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