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According to India media reports on July 26, the India Air Force recently conducted a comprehensive air defense exercise, and the "protagonist" in the exercise was the S-400 air defense system purchased by India from Russia at great expense. According to reports, the S-400 in this exercise was a great success, "virtually shooting down" 80% of the "enemy" incoming fighters in one fell swoop. It not only demonstrated the India powerful air defense capabilities to China and Pakistan, but also revived the prestige of the S-400 system, which was hit the battlefield between Russia and Ukraine, and played a wave of advertising for the Russia S-400 in disguise. So why does Russia not use China's S-400 live-fire test to "advertise", but is promoting India's "virtual targeting"?
As the second country in the world to purchase S-400s from Russia, India spent $5.4 billion to purchase five regiments of S-400s in 2018, and has delivered three regiments with a total of 48 launchers, and the remaining two sets have been delayed until August 2026 due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. In April 2022, the India Air Force first deployed its first S-400 unit in the Punjab region to counter the air threat from the direction of China and Pakistan. Although the report did not specify the time and location of the exercise, judging from the India Air Force's claim that a total of 1.5 squadrons were deployed on the "Chinese and Pakistani fronts", it should still be in the Punjab area.
Although the India Air Force's S-400 air defense exercise claims to be aimed at demonstrating the integration of its S-400 system with India's air defense system, its true intention can be seen from its choice of the exercise site in the Punjab area, which can monitor China and Pakistan at the same time. According to Indian media reports, the S-400 not only successfully "locked on" and aimed at the incoming target, but also "shot down" 80% of the "enemy's" fighters, while forcing other fighters to retreat immediately. Although the India Air Force did not disclose the specific fighter models participating in the S-400 air defense exercise, the Indian media speculated that there should be the India Air Force's current most advanced Su-30MKI, Tei, and even Rafale.
Radar and missile launcher for the S-400
The India Air Force believes that the results of the exercise prove that the S-400 has been integrated into the integrated air defense system of the India Air Force, and at the same time, through this exercise, it has shown the outside world the true strength of the Russia S-400, which is not as useless as the multiple S-400 launchers destroyed in the Russian-Ukrainian war. And the Russia side also quickly reported on the incident, citing the praise of India experts for the S-400.
The Russian army S-400 console is reported on the Internet
However, India's S-400 exercise should not have carried out live ammunition launches, and the so-called "shooting down 80% of incoming fighters" is a "virtual result" in the system to "lock the target" instead of "actually shoot down"! Therefore, India's S-400 exercise only tested the detection and tracking capabilities of the S-400 with various types of fighters, and did not conduct live-fire tests on missile performance and hitting long-distance targets, so this test did not fully reflect the real capabilities of the S-400.
In addition, the India Air Force not only did not announce the type and number of fighters playing the "attacker" during the S-400 air defense exercise, nor did it say whether the S-400 encountered electromagnetic suppression by the other side when detecting and locking on targets. In the end, the India Air Force's verbal description alone indicated that the S-400 had won a complete victory. I believe that if the results of this exercise are seen by potential customers of the S-400, I am afraid they will still be reminiscent of the S-400 wreckage that was blown up by the Ukrainian army on the battlefield of Russia and Ukraine!
Picture non-continental S-400 test
In fact, Russia really wants to save the image of the S-400 on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, in addition to explaining the battlefield situation at that time to potential customers, such as NATO relying on strong intelligence collection capabilities, using early warning aircraft, etc. to provide Ukraine with the accurate deployment coordinates of the Russian S-400 in real time, which led to objective factors such as sudden strikes on the S-400 of the Russian army. In turn, it can also provide the process of China's two S-400 test launches at the end of 2018, after all, China has more information when testing the S-400 twice, which can not only accurately reflect the true capabilities of the S-400, but also far more convincing than India's test.
For example, the first time we used the S-400 to launch a 48N6E missile, intercepting a hypersonic ballistic missile target at nearly Mach 9 from a distance of 250 kilometers – and this was done under "high-intensity electronic jamming" conditions. Less than a month later, we conducted a second test launch. This time, the 48N6E missile was still used, but the interception target was changed to an aircraft target flying at a speed of 600 meters per second at about 250 kilometers per second. This interception test was also a complete success.
At that time, the Russia TASS news agency also reported on this, claiming that after two tests, the combat effectiveness of the S-400 was highly praised by the leadership of the Chinese Ministry of Defense. "We do see that the S-400 system is unrivaled in the world in terms of its capabilities today". - Isn't this kind of test authority and high praise from "customers" more so that the S-400 can straighten the waist than this unknown "exercise" of the India Air Force?
Indeed, in the more than two years of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the S-400 air defense system, one of the aces of Russia's military industry exports, has a mediocre record, does not show the advanced level of its external propaganda, but has also been destroyed by the Ukrainian military long-range weapons or drones many launchers, radar vehicles, so that Russia's air defense system, which should be "big sellers", has collapsed in the international arms market. Therefore, the India Air Force announced that the S-400 it purchased performed well in the air defense exercise and "killed all sides", which is equivalent to re-establishing the international image of Russia's S-400 that has decayed. It is no wonder that Russia also immediately forwarded it and spoke highly of it.
But after understanding the India Air Force's "secret" test process, it is simply impossible for potential buyers to make a purchase decision based on the India Air Force's own claim that it shot down 80% of the "simulated fighters" without releasing any specific test data! It seems that Russia wants to wash away the shame of the S-400's poor performance on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, and can only rely on the PLA to "sample" him. And this "juggling" exercise test of the India Air Force may dissuade many S-400 intended customers!