Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has asked Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov to deliver the remaining S-400 surface-to-air missile squadrons within an expedited time-frame during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao on Thursday.
According to an Indian readout of the meeting released on Friday, Singh also called for upgrading Indian Air Force's (IAF) Su-30 MKI jets and procure criticial military hardware from Russia in an expeditious manner. These were described as being the "key takeaways" of the meeting by New Delhi.
The Indian statement noted India's need to augment defence production, especially in critical items such as air defence, air-to-air missiles, modern capabilities and upgrades of air platforms against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.
Significantly, the S-400 surface-to-air Triumf systems played a crucial role in neutralising Pakistani aerial attacks during Operation Sindoor, which has been acknowledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under the $5.43 billion contract signed in 2018, Russia would supply India with five squadrons of S-400 systems, of which three have already been delivered and the remaining ones are expected to be handed over to India by early next year.
"The Russian Defence Minister highlighted the long-standing Indo-Russian relations which have stood the test of time and expressed solidarity with India on the horrendous and cowardly terrorist act of 22nd April in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir," the Indian Defence Ministry statement said.
Further, it said that both the ministers held in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including the prevailing geopolitical situation, cross-border terrorism and the Indo-Russia defence cooperation.