Where’s the Radar ? Modi’s S-400 Photo-Op Backfires Amid Pakistani Strike Claims

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — Recently, Pakistan has released video footage allegedly showing a JF-17 “Thunder” multirole fighter jet launching with two CM-400AKG hypersonic air-to-surface missiles, reportedly to conduct a high-value strike against India’s S-400 “Triumf” long-range air defence system stationed at Adampur Airbase in Punjab.

The footage, which has since circulated widely across regional defence networks, was followed by an official statement from the Pakistani military claiming the mission successfully neutralised the radar array of the S-400 system using Chinese-supplied hypersonic munitions designed specifically to defeat high-tier strategic targets.

The Indian government has firmly denied the Pakistani narrative, insisting that its S-400 deployment at Adampur remains intact and fully operational, despite claims of degradation following the cross-border conflict.

In a calculated display of resolve, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Adampur Airbase shortly after a ceasefire agreement took hold, seeking to project confidence and discredit Islamabad’s assertions by holding a televised address against the dramatic backdrop of a fully intact S-400 missile launcher.

During the press conference, Modi addressed the nation with the launcher towering behind him, sending an unspoken message aimed at Pakistan: “You claim to have destroyed our S-400 system at Adampur—yet here it is behind me.”

However, this symbolism was not lost on regional analysts, many of whom quickly noted that the showcased launcher was conspicuously absent of the S-400’s key fire-control component—the high-value radar unit, a potential indication that Pakistan may have successfully disabled it.

Christopher Clary, a prominent U.S.-based South Asia analyst, added fuel to the debate in a post on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “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.”

Pakistani defence commentators seized on this, arguing that the deliberate omission of the radar system during Modi’s press briefing may have been an unintentional admission that the core sensor suite—often referred to as the “cheeseboard radar”—was indeed compromised during the strike.

From Islamabad’s strategic lens, Modi’s decision to stage his appearance solely in front of the launcher, without displaying the full S-400 fire-control system, may have inadvertently validated Pakistan’s operational success.

The Pakistani Air Force further escalated the narrative during a joint tri-service briefing on May 11, where Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmad disclosed that Pakistan had been tracking India’s S-400 deployment via satellite imagery “well before the hostilities.”

Ahmad noted that “attacking the S-400 system was the easier part,” while the real challenge was “identifying it on the ground,” highlighting the complexity of targeting a highly mobile and network-centric air defence system in wartime.

He then presented satellite imagery indicating that Pakistani forces had successfully acquired and “pinpointed” the system’s key radar signature, particularly the 92N6E Grave Stone fire-control radar, commonly dubbed the “cheeseboard radar” due to its array layout.

In a subsequent military communiqué, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) claimed its air force had carried out a precision strike on Adampur using hypersonic CM-400AKG missiles launched from JF-17 Thunder aircraft, targeting and disabling India’s most advanced air defence installation.

The statement declared that the hypersonic missile strike had “fully neutralized” the S-400 system, which is renowned globally for its ability to engage aerial targets up to 400 km away, across multiple altitudes and threat vectors simultaneously.

The CM-400AKG, a high-supersonic or low-hypersonic air-to-surface missile developed by China for export, is reportedly capable of Mach 5-6 terminal speeds and is designed to penetrate heavily defended airspace—making it a credible threat even to premier systems like the S-400.

ISPR further emphasized that the S-400 “Triumf” remains the crown jewel of India’s ground-based air defence capabilities, a status reinforced by its Russian pedigree and cutting-edge radar-missile integration.

India had inked a $5.43 billion deal with Russia in 2018 for five full regiments of the S-400, with deliveries beginning in 2021 despite significant diplomatic pressure from Washington under the CAATSA sanctions framework.

Operational S-400 units have been deployed at strategic flashpoints along both the Pakistan and China borders, serving as deterrence platforms against hostile aircraft, ballistic missiles, and long-range standoff weapons.

Each S-400 regiment includes multiple fire units, each comprising up to 12 missile launchers, command vehicles, and radar systems such as the 91N6E Big Bird (search radar with 600 km range) and the aforementioned Grave Stone radar, capable of simultaneously tracking 300 aerial targets.

With its multi-layered interceptor suite—including 40N6E (400 km), 48N6DM (250 km), 9M96E2 (120 km), and 9M96E (40 km)—the S-400 is engineered to intercept targets at varying altitudes, speeds, and ranges, creating a dense air defence umbrella across wide geographies.

The system’s resilience in a real combat scenario, however, has increasingly come under question—especially in light of Pakistan’s recent claims, which if verified, would mark the first successful strike against a deployed S-400 radar anywhere in the world.

Modern air defence systems, even as advanced as the S-400, remain vulnerable to the growing threat of hypersonic and precision-guided standoff munitions—particularly when exposed through satellite surveillance and electronic warfare.

While New Delhi has not conceded any loss, the strategic message behind Pakistan’s release of targeting imagery, satellite tracking disclosures, and the alleged successful strike reflects a larger shift towards transparency, psychological operations, and battlefield narrative dominance in the Indo-Pakistani conflict theatre.

India continues to stand by the operational readiness of its S-400 fleet, viewing it as a long-term asset critical to maintaining air superiority against two nuclear-armed neighbours with expanding missile arsenals and advanced aerial strike capabilities.

As the dust settles over Adampur, the debate over whether the world’s most advanced air defence system has been outmaneuvered by a lower-cost, asymmetric hypersonic strike platform like the JF-17/CM-400AKG pairing remains unresolved—but the implications for future warfare are undeniable.

— DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA