US Reiterates Reservations about India s S-400 Deal with Russia

The US has reiterated its reservations about India s S-400 missile system deal with Russia and has urged India to look into other options to avoid the sanctions CAATSA (Countering America s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act).

S-400 Deal

• India had signed a deal to procure five S-400 Triumf missile systems from Russia. S-400 Triumf is an antiaircraft weapon capable of engaging aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles within a range of 400 km, at an altitude up to 30 km and has a terminal ballistic missile defence capability.
• S-400 can track 100 airborne targets, including super fighters such as the American built F-35, and engage six of them simultaneously.
• S-400 integrates multifunction radar, autonomous detection and targeting systems, anti-aircraft missile systems, launchers, and a command & control centre, and is capable of firing three types of missiles to create a layered defence ecosystem.
• S-400 is the fourth generation long-range Russian surface-to-air missile system (SAM), and capabilities are roughly comparable to the U.S. Patriot system.

CAATSA

CAATSA (Countering America s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) is an American federal law penalises defence purchases from Russia, Iran and North Korea.

The Act primarily deals with sanctions on the Russian oil and gas industry, defence and security sector, and financial institutions, in the backdrop of its military intervention in Ukraine and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.

The act empowers US president to impose sanctions on entities engaged in a significant transaction with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors.