Modi's photo-op reveals what he hides
Photos shared on X show Indian PM Narendra Modi stands against the backdrop of two S-400 launchers, while a sketch shows the complete S-400 battery system with the launcher at extreme right. photos: agencies
India's Prime Minister Modi posed in front of an S-400 missile launcher during a visit to the Adampur airbase on Tuesday, a move Indian media framed as a "fact-check" of Pakistan's claim that it had neutralised two of the advanced systems during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
But the photo-op may have inadvertently lent weight to Pakistan's assertion — precisely because of what was missing in the image.
In a post on X [formerly Twitter], US-based South Asia expert Christopher Clary noted that while there is still no concrete evidence of Pakistani success against the S-400, Pakistan would be "at least as likely if not more likely to target the command centre or the radar than they are the launcher" of the air defence system.
"Perhaps those systems are in other photos," Clary posted. In a subsequent post, he shared photos of an S-400 command and control centre destroyed in the Ukraine war, alongside two radar vehicles commonly paired with the system.
According to a TRT World Research Centre explainer, the S-400 system is designed to detect and destroy aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. A 2021 research paper published in the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, states that each S-400 system includes two batteries.
Each battery comprises a command-and-control unit, one surveillance radar, one engagement radar, and four launch trucks referred to as "transportererectorlaunchers." According to TRT World, a full battalion consists of eight launchers, each capable of carrying four missiles
The S-400 has a range of 250 to 400 kilometres, depending on the missile type, and can target objects at altitudes of up to 30 kilometres. The system primarily uses the 48N6 missile series, which can intercept aerial targets up to 250 kilometres away and ballistic missiles within a 60-kilometer radius.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Pakistani military said it had successfully destroyed an Indian S-400 battery stationed at Adampur Air Force Station in Punjab's Jalandhar district, using precision-guided hypersonic missiles launched from a JF-17 platform.