Russia is prepared to closely study the possibility of selling its newest air defense systems S-500 to India, should New Delhi display interest in such a deal, Russian ambassador in New Delhi, Denis Alipov, told Russian media on 18 March.
“I can confirm that if India displays interest in acquiring S-500 systems, we will study this possibility in the closest way,” Alipov said. “But, as far as I know, no concrete talks are on the current agenda,” he added.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said last December that India might become the first foreign purchaser of the Russian missile defense system S-500 Prometheus, should it display interest.
Earlier, in July 2021 the Russian Defense Ministry said that the S-500 had undergone live firing tests at the Kapustin Yar proving ground. All of the expected parameters were confirmed. The S-500 system – a product of the Almaz-Antey group – was designed to intercept any of the existing or yet-to-be developed aerospace attack weapons of a hypothetical enemy in the entire range of altitudes and speeds. The S-500 is seen as a successor to the S-400 Triumf system.
