Amid ongoing efforts by Indian media to dismiss Pakistan’s claim of having neutralised two Indian S-400 air defence systems, a local Indian news outlet has lent unexpected weight to the Pakistani narrative.
On Tuesday, the news website First Bihar Jharkhand reported the death of an Indian military official during last week’s hostilities with Pakistan. The report suggested that the official, Rambabu Kumar Singh, might have been an S-400 system operator.
“Army jawan Rambabu Kumar Singh, a resident of Bihar’s Siwan district, was killed late Monday evening,” stated a translated excerpt from the original Hindi report.
Citing Singh’s father-in-law, the outlet noted that Singh used to operate the S-400 air defence system and had reported for duty in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir on April 10.
However, the report claimed he was killed by Pakistan Army fire around 1:30 PM on Monday.
The post says Bihar’s son Rambabu Singh was killed in the recent Pakistan-India conflict. It says Rambabu used to operate S400 air defense system. This has confirmed that Pakistan indeed hit S400 air defense system during its retaliation! https://t.co/YyaoHinyAd
— Kamran Yousaf (@Kamran_Yousaf) May 13, 2025
According to multiple reports citing Pakistani security sources, Pakistan targeted and neutralised two of India’s S-400 air defence systems during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
One of the systems was reportedly stationed at the Adampur air base, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited on Tuesday. The other was reportedly deployed at the Udhampur air base in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
During his visit to Adampur, Modi posed in front of an S-400 missile launcher — a photo-op that Indian media framed as a “fact-check” of Pakistan’s claim.
However, the image may have inadvertently supported Pakistan’s narrative, primarily because of what it failed to show.
Experts note that if Pakistan had indeed neutralised any part of the S-400 system, it would likely have targeted the radar module or the command-and-control unit rather than the missile launchers themselves.
A single S-400 battery typically includes multiple launchers, a surveillance radar, an engagement radar, and a command-and-control unit.
I don’t think there’s any real evidence of Pakistani success against the S-400 but on the other hand presumably Pakistan is at least as likely if not more likely to target the command center or the radar than they are the launcher. Perhaps those systems are in other photos. https://t.co/1yrBmjcQLY
— Christopher Clary (@clary_co) May 13, 2025
Pakistan is believed to have targeted the S-400 systems using precision-guided CM-400AKG hypersonic missiles launched from JF-17 fighter aircraft.
The CM-400AKG uses a combined inertial and satellite navigation guidance system, and can be equipped with a passive radar seeker in its terminal phase.
Passive radar homing is a missile guidance method that enables a missile to detect and track a target without emitting its own radar signal.
Unlike active radar homing, which relies on the missile sending out signals and receiving their reflections, passive radar homing uses a built-in receiver to detect radio frequency emissions.
These signals can originate from the target itself — such as radar, communications, or other electronic emissions — or from an external transmitter associated with the target.
This allows the missile to home in on the target covertly, without alerting it to the missile’s presence.
