India may deploy Russian S-400 missile system by next month: Pentagon

By June 2022 India intends to deploy the S400 missile defence system that it has received from Russia to defend itself against threat from Pakistan and China a Pentagon spy master has told US lawmakersIndia started receiving the delivery of S400 missile defence system from Russia in December last year Lt Gen Scott Berrier Director Defense Intelligence Agency told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a recent Congressional hearing As of October 2021 Indias military was seeking to procure advanced surveillance systems to strengthen its land and sea borders and boost its offensive and defensive cyber capabilitiesIn December India received its initial delivery of the Russian S400 air defence system and it intends to operate the system to defend against Pakistani and Chinese threats by June 2022 Berrier said India continued to develop its own hypersonic ballistic cruise and air defence missile capabilities conducting multiple tests in 2021 India has a growing number of satellites in orbit and it is expanding its use of space assets likely pursuing offensive space capabilities he saidBerrier told lawmakers that New Delhi is pursuing an extensive military modernisation effort encompassing air ground naval and strategic nuclear forces with an emphasis on domestic defence production India is taking steps to establish Integrated Theatre Commands that will improve its joint capability among its three military services Since 2019 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given priority to strengthen Indias economy by expanding its domestic defence industry and establishing a negative import list to curtail defence purchases from foreign suppliersIndias longstanding defence relationship with Russia remains strong holding their first 22 format talks in December A joint foreign and defence ministerial that India previously only held with the United States Japan and Australia India has maintained a neutral stance on Russias invasion of Ukraine and continues to call for peace Berrier told the lawmakersAccording to Berrier throughout 2021 New Delhi continued to implement foreign policy aimed at demonstrating Indias role as a leading power and net provider of security in the Indian Ocean region India seeks to promote prosperity and ensure stability in the IndoPacific region by seeking strategic partnerships to build influence through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN he said New Delhi seeks to deepen intelligence and operational cooperation on cybersecurity protect critical information infrastructure prevent adversary manipulation of public opinion and to create standards and norms that protect and secure data governance he addedFollowing the collapse of the Afghan government New Delhi is increasingly concerned about potential attacks against India by terrorist groups such as LashkareTaiba and JaisheMohammed empowered by a Talibancontrolled Afghanistan he said The evacuation of Indian personnel from Afghanistan degraded its resources to monitor potential threats and cultivate influence over regional stability he saidDespite recommitting to the 2003 ceasefire India remains postured to respond to perceived militant threats and it has continued counterterrorism operations inside Indianadministered Kashmir Occasional skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops will continue and a highprofile attack in India by Pakistanbased terrorists risks an Indian military response he saidBerrier said that ChineseIndian relations remain strained following the fatal clashes in summer 2020 between their respective forces along the Western sector of the Line of Actual Control LAC During 2021 both sides held multiple rounds of highlevel diplomatic and military talks that resulted in a mutual pullback of forces from several standoff points However both sides maintain close to 50000 troops along with artillery tanks and multiple rocket launchers and both are building infrastructure along the LAC he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever