India will probably ask the US to exempt its sanctions over Russia to clear its path to buy S-400 air defense systems from Moscow. Indeed, India might face US sanctions for this purchase under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

S-400 air defense system (NATO code: SA-21 Growler) (Picture source: Army Recognition)

“The government was also assessing if the deal would make India liable for actions by US President Donald Trump under the CAATSA,” Deccan Herald reported quoting unnamed sources on 22 April.

“CAATSA sanctions pose a concern for our defense relationships in the Indo-Pacific with countries such as India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. If the US decides to sanction these partner nations for their purchases of Russian equipment, this decision may hinder the growth of each developing partnership and increase each partner’s dependence on Russia,” Admiral Philip S. Davidson, the nominee for the US Pacific Command Commander (PACOM), told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on 18 april.

In December 2015, the Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) cleared the game-changing acquisition of the S-400 systems, which later led to inking of inter-governmental agreement for five S-400 systems on October 2016.

With long-range radars to track 100 to 300 targets simultaneously, the S-400 has different kinds of supersonic and hypersonic missiles to intercept incoming aerial threats at different ranges. India is mainly going in for long-range (120-370-km) interception missiles. China is the first foreign purchaser of these air defense systems, while the second one is Turkey.