India scheduled to receive fourth unit of S-400 missile systems in early May

India is set to receive the fourth unit of the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system from Russia in the first part of May, reports PTI news agency. It is expected to further enhance the Indian Air Force's air defence mechanism.

Last month, New Delhi cleared the procurement of a new batch of five S-400 missile systems deployed by Russia, which will take the total number to 10.

It is reported that the fourth unit of the missile system has already been shipped and it is expected to reach India in the next few days.

In October 2018, India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to procure five units of the missile systems and three of them have already been delivered.

Reports said the fifth unit of the missile will be delivered by November under an updated timeline for supplying the weapon system.

The S-400 missile systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor.

India had signed the deal for procurement of the S-400 missiles over seven years back notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

The statements further said that India is not expecting any possible barriers from US sanctions as the new procurement will be a "follow on" order of the previously made order.

The missile systems were used extensively by the Indian Air Force (IAF) during the May 7-10 military conflict with Pakistan.

Weeks after the conflict, a proposal was moved to procure another batch of the S-400 missiles.

Russia has already trained a group of Indian personnel to operate the missile systems.

The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.