S-500 and Su-57 on the table: What India could gain from its next big Russia defence deals

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit is shaping up to have centred on two big-ticket defence items, the S-500 missile defence system and the Su-57 stealth fighter, as New Delhi looks to deepen its military relationship with Moscow even as Washington watches uneasily. Discussions around both platforms were expected to formally begin during the meeting, part of what officials describe as the countries' Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.The push for the S-500 comes on the back of real battlefield validation of its predecessor. The S-400, deployed during Operation Sindoor, reportedly performed well in tracking and neutralising aerial threats and integrating into India's broader air defence network, prompting New Delhi to look a generation ahead.