Indian Defense
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Date of Event:
May 25, 2025
Historic Killā: S-400 Shot Down Pakistanās AWACS Aircraft 314 KM Away During Indo-Pak War: Sources.
Western media had worked overtime to discredit S-400 (NATO codename SA-21 āGrowlersā) during the Ukraine-Russia conflict. However, the recent military confrontation between India and Pakistan has been a big triumph for the S-400 āTriumfā as it intercepted long-range projectiles fired by Pakistan with 100 percent efficacy.
The S-400 surface-to-air missile shot down multiple Pakistani air-launched cruise missiles and drones, and proved its real worth during the India-Pakistan brief war.
India purchased five S-400 units from Russia in a USD 5.4 billion deal initiated by former defence minister Manohar Parrikar.
As global sanctions were levied against Russia, the US tried to dissuade India from going ahead with the deal. The deliveries were made even as the United States has yet to decide on a waiver for India under the Countering Americaās Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
The EurAsian Times has learned from reliable sources that the Indian S-400 has created a world record by securing the longest kill by an SAM by hitting an aerial target at 314 kilometers. With the launch, the SAM took out a force multiplier of the Pakistan Air Forceās Saab Erieye-2000 flying radar.
This is the second loss of the Saab Erieye-2000 flying radar, the source told EurAsian Times, on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Indiaās leading media outlet, Hindustan Times, appears to be validating the sourceās claims of AWACS shootdown by S-400.
Earlier, Pakistanās Air Marshal Masood Akhtar (retired) disclosed that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) lost an AWACS aircraft during Indiaās āOperation Sindoorā on the night of May 9ā10 to a BrahMos missile strike.
āThey (Indian forces) fired four back-to-back Brahmos surface-to-surface missilesā¦ surface-to-surface or air-to-surface, I am not sure. The (Pakistani) pilots rushed to secure their aircraft, but the missiles kept on coming, and unfortunately, the fourth one hit the hangar at Bholari (airbase), where one of our AWACS was standing. It was damaged and casualties were also reportedā¦ā he said in an interview.
The Indian S-400 surface-to-air missile also managed to shoot down multiple air-launched cruise missiles and drones fired from Pakistan.
missile uses a 143 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead, has a range of 250-400 km, and is an ABM with a 60 km altitude. Nearly 70-80 percent of the technology, including missile storage containers, launchers, and radars, was adapted from the S-300, which has been in service since 2007. The same would be the upgrade from S-400 to S-500.
Russia has ordered ten S-500 battalions to replace the S-300 systems gradually. The first under-development unit was deployed around Moscow in October 2021.
S-400 āGrowlerā
The S-400 has been designed to engage targets up to 400 km away using 40N6 missiles, but it also deploys the 48N6 missile with a 250 km range. The S-400 is prized for its ability to engage up to 80 targets simultaneously, and its high situational awareness provided by multiple complementary radars, which allow it to engage stealth targets reliably.The road-mobile air defense system is highly manoeuvrable and has successfully thwarted Pakistanās attempt to saturate it and take it down.
The S-400ās launchers, radars, and command centres can be quickly redeployed after firing, making them extremely difficult to neutralise. This layered system allowed Indian forces to create difficult-to-penetrate anti-access area-denial (A2AD) zones.
The S-400 forms the backbone of the Russian Air Forceās surface-to-air missile arsenal. It is by far the most widely operated long-range air defence system in any country, with over 30 regiments currently in service.
readinessā over prolonged periods and enable swift response. To add to it, they can be used to counter ballistic missiles as well. āA well-networked, integrated area defense capability will ensure the protection of high-priority targets by multiple weapons providing defense in depth,ā the doctrine postulates.
India faces expanded security challenges as Hybrid Warfare has blurred the lines between war and politics, combatants and civilians. Hybrid Warfare makes the spectrum of war ānebulousā as it is a war in which one of the major participants is not a State but rather a violent non-state actor or non-state actor sponsored by a State.
