IAF releases first-ever video of S-400 firing, cites 'longest ever air kill' in Operation Sindoor
Missile system shown in action ahead of Vayu Shakti exercise to be held on February 27 in Rajasthan
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday released the first-ever video showing an S-400 air defence missile system in action.
In an apparent reference to Operation Sindoor, the missile in flight was tagged as having carried out the “longest ever air kill recorded in military history”.
The Russian-origin S-400 system played a key role in Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in May last year and had brought down a Pakistan Air Force aircraft around 300 km away, deep inside Pakistani territory.
“Enemy may be out of reach, but is never out of sight,” the IAF said in the video released on Thursday. The footage includes a radar image detecting an approaching jet and activating the air-defence mechanism.
Promotional footage, not from Operation Sindoor
The missile footage is not from Operation Sindoor but is part of promotional material for the upcoming Vayu Shakti exercise, scheduled to be held on February 27 in Rajasthan.
Indian Air Force: Infallible, Impervious and Precise
1 day to go.
The Indian Air Force has successfully validated all operational parameters during the Full Dress Rehearsal for #Vayushakti26 at Pokhran, all targets effectively neutralised.
All Air Warriors now stand fully… pic.twitter.com/j7ZWmOYYb1
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) February 26, 2026
IAF Chief detailed long-range strike
In October last year, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said the force had destroyed or damaged at least a dozen Pakistani aircraft during Operation Sindoor.
Detailing the aerial strikes, he had said: “We have clear evidence of a long-range hit almost 300 km away. It happened to be a PAF signal intelligence plane along with that five hi-tech fighters between the F-16 and the J-17 (Chinese) class, is what our system tells us.”
The strikes were carried out using the Russian S-400 air defence system, which the IAF Chief had earlier described as the newly inducted long-range surface-to-air missile system.
Referring to the system, he had said: “The long-range SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) that we have procured recently and operationalised, that again turned the tables on them. We could look deep inside their territory.
“We could make sure that they were not able to operate even within their territory to a certain distance.”
