The deputy CEO of the air and space defence concern Almaz-Antey, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln on Monday said Russia will begin to deliver surface-to-air missile defence system (SAM) S-400 by end of the year 2021.

"I can confirm that we will deliver [the S-400 system to India] by the end of 2021 in accordance with the schedule and contractual obligations of the Russian side," Dzirkaln said while interacting at International Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2021".

He also said that at the present Indian military personnel training is underway in operating the S-400.

"As for the training, the first group of Indian specialists have completed the training. The second group is undergoing training. I would not talk about the number of people but it is a sufficient number for the Indian armed forces to effectively operate our equipment. I would like to say that the results shown by the first group of Indian specialists after the training were very high. I would like to note the [high] level of training of Indian specialists," the deputy CEO said.

In October 2018, India had signed a USD 5.43 billion deal with Russia for five S-400 regiments.