India on Friday (05/10/2018) signed a deal worth around $5 billion for the purchase of the S-400 Triumf air defence system from Russia. The deal was signed in New Delhi during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the India-Russia annual summit. The deal was signed in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The missile system packs a multifunction radar, anti-aircraft missile systems, an autonomous detection and targeting systems, launchers, and command and a control centre. The missile system is capable of firing three types of missiles through its multi-layered defence capabilities provided.

The S-400 can engage many types of aerial targets such as aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, ballistic and cruise missiles within the range of 400 kilometres and up to an altitude of up to 30 kilometres. It is expected to be deployed along the nearly 4,000-km-long India-China border. It is said that India and Russia have been discussing the purchase since 2015.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told PTI, “India has maintained its sovereignty as regards to its relationship with countries. We shall maintain it in all earnestness.”

During the India-Russia annual summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed eight pacts in total, including a crucial MoU between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Federal Space Agency of Russia ‘ROSCOSMOS’ on cooperation on India’s ambitious human spaceflight mission project Gaganyaan.

Read EquityPandit’s Technical Analysis of Indian Stock Market