New Delhi: Russia has said that the first regiment of S-400 anti-air system will be delivered to India by the end of 2021 and that the delivery period of further batches could be compressed if required. India has ordered five regiments of the cutting edge system that is designed to take down targets at a range of over 400 km.

“The schedule of fulfilling the contract has been discussed in detail with Indian partners and the delivery of the first regiment is expected by the end of 2021,” the official representative of Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said at the Army 2020 expo at Kubinka, outside Moscow.

“Further acceleration (of the timeline) is technically impossible, given the technology-related stages of production, acceptance trials and transfer of the equipment,” the official representative said.

Russia has said that there is an ongoing portfolio of defence orders worth US$15 billion with India and that plans to start producing AK203 rifles at a factory at Amethi in Uttar Pradesh are underway while the acquisition of Igla-S air defence missiles should be completed soon.

“There is a good order portfolio equal to about US$15 billion. The production of AK203 at the joint venture is on the way. I hope that in the near future an agreement will be signed for the production and supply of Igla-S in the interest of India, especially since we have won the tender unconditionally,” he said.