In news– Recently, some of the US lawmakers batted for a sanctions waiver for India for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia.
Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)-
- The US has imposed sanctions on Russia under the CAATSA for manufacturing S-400 Triumf.
- The law also provides for punitive action against countries purchasing defence hardware from Russia.
- The law passed in 2017 also imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea.
- It was passed in the wake of Russian interference in the U.S. 2016 presidential election, and was designed to punish Russia by discouraging trade with its defense and intelligence sectors.
- The CAATSA Sanctions represent the implementation of multiple legal authorities.
- Some of these authorities are in the form of executive orders issued by the President and some other authorities are public laws (statutes) passed by the Congress.
- These authorities are further codified by Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in its regulations which are published in Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
- OFAC has been charged with enforcing the provisions of the law.
About S-400 missile-
- The S-400 is known as Russia’s most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.
- It is fitted with a radar and anti missile system.
- It has a range of about 600 km for surveillance and can track 300 targets simultaneously.
- This system also detects fighter jets which are a part of China’s arsenal– F-22, F-35 etc.
- It has 9 launchers, 120 missiles, command and support vehicles.
- It fits in all missile systems and can be configured to long-range, semi long-range, medium-range and short-range systems depending on the preference.
Source: The Hindu
