Union Budget 2023-24: Govt may look at rationalising tax-free saving products, says Sridhar Sivaram

India's Ministry of Defence is finalising a proposal to procure five additional squadrons of the S-400 Triumf air defence system from Russia — a deal that would effectively double India's existing Sudarshan Chakra fleet and cement the Russian-origin system as the cornerstone of New Delhi's air defence architecture for the foreseeable future. The move follows the S-400's dramatic combat debut during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, when Pakistani drones and cruise missiles targeting military bases across northern and western India were intercepted without a single breach. IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, on multiple occasions, called the system a "game-changer," confirming it had engaged and destroyed high-value targets at distances exceeding 300 kilometres. Three of the originally contracted five squadrons are already operational along India's western and northern frontiers. The success of Sindoor prompted India to announce Mission Sudarshan Chakra on Independence Day 2025 — a programme compared to Israel's Iron Dome. Prime Minister Modi's visit to Tel Aviv in February 2025 also sparked speculation about a potential Iron Dome deal, though the two systems serve fundamentally different purposes — Iron Dome is a tactical, urban-protection tool designed for short-range rockets, while the S-400 is a strategic system capable of holding aircraft and cruise missiles at arm's length across vast distances. The five new squadrons, if approved, will address India's two-front threat from both Pakistan and China, covering the western border, the Line of Actual Control and the strategically vital Siliguri Corridor — creating what defence planners describe as a nearly seamless kinetic and electronic shield across India's most vulnerable axes.