India and Russia Discuss Enhancing Military Cooperation: Focus on S-400 and Su-30MKI Upgrade

India and Russia discussed ways to enhance defense cooperation, including the supply of advanced Russian air defense systems "S-400" and the upgrade of fighter jets "Su-30MKI", as well as accelerating vital military equipment deals, according to a statement issued by the Indian Ministry of Defense following a meeting between the defense ministers of both countries in the Chinese city of Qingdao.

The statement said: "The meeting, which brought together ministers Rajnath Singh and Andrei Belousov, was one of the recent key bilateral meetings, where they discussed the developments of 'Sindhu Darshan' operation and the necessity to enhance defense production, especially in vital areas such as air defense, air-to-air missiles, enhancing modern military capabilities, and upgrading air platforms".

The statement confirmed that the main topics of the meeting included "supply of S-400 systems, Su-30MKI fighter jets upgrade, and procurement of vital military equipment in the shortest possible time", according to the Russian news agency TASS.

During the meeting, both sides addressed common security issues, with the ministers conducting "detailed discussions on the current geopolitical situation, combating cross-border terrorism, and the prospects of Russian-Indian defense cooperation", according to the statement. The Russian minister also expressed solidarity with India following the terrorist attack targeting the tourist area of ​​Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 last year.

In response to the attack, the Indian Armed Forces launched the 'Sindhu Darshan' operation on May 7, targeting terrorist sites inside Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the role of Russian S-400 systems in enhancing the country's defense capabilities, stating that they were a "decisive factor" in the operation's success. Modi also visited the 'Adampur' airbase in the Punjab region, where he inspected the deployment of Russian systems there.

It is worth mentioning that India signed a contract with Russia in 2018 to purchase 5 units of the S-400 systems worth 5.43 billion dollars, with the first unit deployed in 2021 in the border region of Punjab with Pakistan.