05:20 29-05-2026

India Tests S-400 Firing-on-the-Move Tactics

India is refining S-400 tactics to improve survivability, counter satellite tracking and enable faster missile launches with minimal stops.

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Indian forces are continuing to refine the way they use S-400 air defense systems, according to analysts at Indian Defence Research Wing.

The main focus now is on improving the survivability of these systems as space-based reconnaissance becomes more capable. The publication noted that particular attention is being paid to the threat posed by Chinese satellites, which, during the latest conflict, helped Pakistani forces detect the positions of S-400 batteries.

India, however, was able to respond quickly. Its forces tracked reconnaissance satellites and moved the systems to new locations before the enemy received precise coordinates for a strike. According to the analysts, this approach played an important role in keeping the S-400 systems operational during repeated Pakistani attempts to locate and neutralize the batteries.

The Indian army now plans to go further by introducing the concept of firing on the move. The idea is to reduce the time needed for a launcher to stop, deploy, fire missiles and leave its position.

In the future, launch vehicles are expected to prepare for firing while moving at low speed, around 5–7 km/h. They would then launch missiles after only a minimal stop and immediately move away from the danger zone.

This new tactic is expected to make the Russian-made systems even harder to detect and strike.