India did not stumble into air defence autonomy. It chose it.The Pokhran test in August 2025 was a game-changer, showcasing India’s fully indigenous Integrated Air Defence Weapon System as it successfully intercepted multiple aerial threats during a live exercise.No foreign consultants. No imported algorithms. Just Indian scientists, Indian steel, and Indian resolve.
That test wasn’t just a demonstration; it was a declaration. For decades, India relied on imported systems to guard its skies. The Russian S-400 offered long-range deterrence. The Israeli Iron Dome promised urban protection. But neither was built for India’s terrain, threat matrix, or doctrinal needs. They were borrowed shields, not tailored armour.
The new indigenous system transforms the approach, integrating three technologies into a flexible, layered mobile defense grid. The Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile, or QRSAM, can track and destroy fast jets, helicopters, and cruise missiles within a 30 kilometre radius. It moves with strike formations, not behind them. The Very Short Range Air Defence System, or VSHORADS, is man-portable and designed to neutralise low-flying drones and helicopters. It uses a fourth-generation infrared seeker and miniaturised AESA radar, a rare feat globally. The Directed Energy Weapon, developed by the Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences, disables swarm drones with concentrated laser beams. It does not need ammunition. It needs electricity.
Together, these systems form a real-time responsive shield, coordinated by a Centralised Command and Control Centre built by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory in Hyderabad. The centre uses artificial intelligence to classify threats and assign interceptors within seconds.
This is not just tactical innovation. It is strategic doctrine.
India’s air defence philosophy is shifting from static point protection to dynamic battlefield shielding. The new systems are embedded with armoured units, not siloed in rear echelons. They fuse data from Army, Air Force, and civilian radar networks. They enable preemptive neutralisation of threats based on predictive trajectories.
This doctrine aligns with India’s Cold Start strategy and the emerging Integrated Theatre Commands. It prepares India for multi-vector aerial threats from China’s hypersonic glide vehicles and stealth drones, and Pakistan’s Turkish-supplied loitering munitions.
The ambition does not stop here. Mission Sudarshan Chakra, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to build a fully indigenous, multi-domain defence shield by 2035. It will integrate the Army’s Akashteer battlefield grid and the Air Force’s Integrated Air Command and Control System. It will expand into cyber, space, and surveillance domains. It will include long-range interceptors under Project Kusha, capable of neutralising threats up to 400 kilometres away.
This is not a procurement plan. It is a sovereignty blueprint.
The cost is significant. Three QRSAM regiments for the Army are projected at 30000 crore rupees. Project Kusha is expected to require 40000 crore rupees by 2029. The Ministry of Defence has set a defence production target of 3 lakh crore rupees by the same year. The investment is offset by reduced import dependency, job creation across 16 defense public sector enterprises and 16,000 MSMEs, and the potential for exports to friendly countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
India’s defense exports hit 21,000 crore rupees in the financial year 2024-2025. Air defense systems are now included in strategic diplomacy packages, along with training, maintenance, and joint exercises. They are included in offset agreements for co-production in partner nations. They are positioned as alternatives to expensive Western systems for countries priced out of the global arms market.
India is not just exporting hardware. It is exporting strategic trust.
Behind these systems are scientists who rarely appear in headlines. Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, oversaw the IADWS test and praised the teams for their remarkable efforts. Dr. Tessy Thomas, renowned as the Missile Woman of India, played a pivotal role in the development of Agni and QRSAM.Dr. A. R. S. Ganesh spearheaded the Directed Energy Weapon program at CHESS, skillfully integrating theoretical physics with the pressing demands of the battlefield.
These are not just engineers. They are custodians of sovereignty.
India’s indigenous air defence evolution is a metaphorical Sudarshan Chakra. It is precise, indigenous, and devastatingly effective. It is not a myth reborn. It is a strategy realised.
The skies above India are no longer guarded by borrowed shields. They are protected by Indian minds, Indian machines, and Indian intent.
The world should take note.