LUCKNOW - Russia will begin training Indian specialists to operate the S-400 air defence missile system before its scheduled 2021 delivery, Vladimir Drozhzhov, a deputy director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, said on Wednesday.

“The implementation of this contract is on schedule. The first batch is planned to be delivered before the end of 2021, especially since the training of Indian specialists will already begin before this delivery,” Drochchov told reporters at the DefExpo India 2020 exhibition in Lucknow.

New Delhi signed a $5 billion contract to acquire five units of the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia in October 2018.

Rosoboronexport Director General Alexander Mikheev said in November last year that Russia will complete the deliveries in 2025.

The S-400 systems, which entered service in 2007, are designed to destroy all types of air targets, including drones and cruise missiles.