Indian Air Force Chief Confirms S-400s Were a ‘Game Changer’ in Clashes with Pakistan: Rafale Fighters Fell Short

Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh has for the first time elaborated on the service’s air defence efforts during clashes with the Pakistan Air Force on May 7-10, providing new details on the role of the recently procured Russian S-400 long range air defence system in particular. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi previously indicated that the S-400 had indeed played a significant role in hostilities, observing on May 13 regarding the recent clashes that “platforms like the S-400 have given unprecedented strength to the country.”

The prime minister’s singling out of the S-400 for praise followed a major public relations fallout for the Indian Air Force after the loss of between one and four Rafale fighters in engagements with the Pakistan Air Force, with the French supplied jets reportedly brought down by Pakistan’s new Chinese-supplied J-10C fighters. The procurement of the French jets having long been controversial due to their performance limitations and immense cost of $240 million per aircraft. With the S-400 and Rafale having been by far the most significant air defence related procurements made by India over the past decade, stressing the S-400’s accomplishments has provided a means of deflecting criticism from the Rafale’s underperformance, which has caused a growing scandal.

Elaborating on the S-400’s performance, Air Chief Marshal Singh observed: “The S-400 system which we had recently bought has been a game changer… The kill range of that system kept their aircraft away from the maximum distance at which they could employ their long-range air-to-ground weapons, like those long-range glide bombs that they have.” “We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft, which could be an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&C aircraft, which was taken out from a distance of about 300km, which is the largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about,” he further noted. The 300 kilometre range confirms longstanding speculation that Indian S-400 systems have been equipped with new 40N6 long range surface-to-air missiles, which provide a 400 kilometre engagement range and allow for targeting over the curvature of the earth. The missiles use targeting data from either forward deployed radars or large airborne radars, such as the Indian Su-30MKI fighter’s N011M which is among the largest ever integrated onto a fighter.

The Indian Defence Ministry signed a $5.43 billion dollar order in October 2018 for five S-400 regiments, with the Indian government rebuffing significant efforts made by countries in the Western world not to sign the deal and to instead procure Western equipment. These efforts included threatening India with the imposition of economic sanctions should it procure the Russian equipment. With the performance of the Rafale fighter having long been in serious question, particularly in the air-to-air domain, India’s lack of other major fighter procurements has left it increasingly reliant on the S-400. The American F-35 and Russian Su-57 have both been pitched to the country, and promised an overwhelmingly superior capability to the Rafale, although Washington’s perceived lack of reliability as a supplier and its imposition of extensive controls over how its military equipment is used were primary factors preventing the F-35 from being seriously considered. The Indian government formally rejected it in late July.

Following confirmation that the Indian Defence Ministry was considering procuring the Su-57, Russia in May made an unprecedented offer to provide full access to the fighter’s source code as part of a large license production deal. The fighter would effectively complement the S-400, and provide an airborne sensor capability that would allow S-400 units to make far more effective use of their long range targeting capabilities. The contrast between the performances of the Rafale and the S-400 are expected to diminish Indian interest in procuring European equipment, with the prior restriction of Rafale procurements to just 36 aircraft indicating that there were already significant reservations regarding the aircraft’s capabilities and cost effectiveness. India’s S-400 acquisitions have fuelled speculation that the country could acquire further high end Russian aerial warfare assets in future, including the complementary new S-500 system designed to engage space and strategic targets with a much longer 600 kilometre range.