India moves to buy five more S-400 systems after Operation Sindoor success as Russia submits cost proposal

India’s plan to acquire five more Russian S-400 air defense systems has moved closer to negotiations after Moscow sent New Delhi a Bill of Quantities proposal detailing construction and material costs.

The purchase still requires approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security. That decision will come after India and Russia finalize the price and the finance ministry gives its clearance. The last of the five S-400 systems ordered by Narendra Modi’s government in 2018, under a $5.43 billion contract, is due to arrive in India in November this year.

The article says the system performed strongly during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. It reports that an S-400 long-range missile targeted a Pakistani airborne early-warning aircraft at a distance of 314 kilometers across the Indus. Pakistani forces also used kamikaze drones against S-400 units at the Adampur and Bhuj air bases, but the article says no Pakistani fighter came close to the Indian border because of the perceived threat from the Russian system.

It further reports that Pakistan moved its air assets to bases near the Durand Line on May 10, after Indian BrahMos missiles struck 11 Pakistani air bases and Indian S-400 and Akash systems downed seven fighters. The proposed fifth additional S-400 system would be deployed in India’s eastern sector facing China.

The article rejects reports that India has decided to buy two squadrons of Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 fighter. It says the Indian Air Force has shown interest in Moscow’s proposal after China deployed J-20 fighters at air bases in Hotan, Lhasa and Nyingchi. With Russian President Vladimir Putin expected in New Delhi for the BRICS summit on September 11-13, the article says defense cooperation could also deepen in hypersonic missile technology.