In a much-needed de-escalation of soaring tensions between India and Pakistan, the two neighbours on Saturday agreed to a ceasefire. Yet, at display over the past three days was the air defence capabilities of the Indian armed forces that successfully neutralised a swarm of drones, missiles and even ballistic missiles that came from across the border targeting Indian locations.

As tensions escalated to a war-like situation, India built a strong fortress of a four-layered integrated air defence system with various types of weapons, missiles, radars, sensors, and vehicle-mounted devices. From S-400 Triumph or 'Sudarshan Chakra', to Akash short and medium defence systems, and Ballistic Missile Defence Programmes, these four layers ensured formidable defence and minimal damage on the Indian side.

S-400

A mobile medium and long-range air defence system, the S-400 Triumph is considered among the best in the world. Russia began developing this in the 1990s and it was first deployed in 2007. It was developed by Almaz-Antey, a Russian government enterprise making air defence and anti-missile systems, merging 46 enterprises from the European country in 2002.

India's S-400 systems, which are named 'Sudarshan Chakra', have four types of surface-to-air missiles to combat various targets. It can even shoot down stealth planes and drones, and ballistic and cruise missiles. Its radars are capable of mapping up to 300 targets at a time up to 600 km and simultaneously engage up to 36 threats.

A major advantage is that it can be put into combat strength in 5 minutes and respond quickly to threats. The system is placed on mobile launchers, deployable instantly on different terrains. Each S-400 squadron has two batteries (can load about 128 missiles in each battery), six launchers each, radar units, and a control-centre vehicle integrated with the Army, Navy and Air force command and control centres.

As part of modernising the defence forces, India signed a Rs 35,000 crore ($5.4 billion) deal in 2018 with Russia to procure five S-400 squadrons. Three were delivered and deployed, but the Ukraine crisis delayed delivery of the remaining S-400s.

Akash air defence missile system

India's indigenously developed advanced missile system, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is the mainstay of India's air defence. It has been in service for over 10 years.  The Army and the Air Force variants of this missile system and various components are made by Bharat Dynamics, Bharat Electronics, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, and Larsen & Toubro.

The Akash System is a medium-range, surface-to-air missile system that provides area air defence against multifarious air threats to mobile, semi-mobile and static vulnerable forces and areas. The system has cutting-edge features with cross-country mobility. The real-time multi-sensor data processing and threat evaluation enable simultaneous engagement of multiple targets from any direction. The entire system is flexible, up-scaled, and can be operated in group and autonomous modes. It employs command guidance and relies on phased array guidance radar to guide the missile till intercept, says Bharat Electronics. Its range of operation is 4.5 km to 25 km with an altitude of 100 metres up to 20 km.

Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) System

MRSAM was developed jointly by DRDO, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and the Indian industry for use by the Indian Army. The MRSAM Army weapon system comprises multi-function radar, command post, mobile launcher system, and other vehicles. It has an advanced network-centric combat Air Defence System (ADS) and provides point and area air defence for ground assets against a wide range of threats. It is capable of engaging multiple targets at ranges up to 70 km in severe saturation scenarios. The missile is powered by an indigenously developed rocket motor and control system for achieving high manoeuvrability during the terminal phase. The firing unit comprises missiles, Combat Management System (CMS), Mobile Launcher Systems (MLS), Advanced Long-Range Radar, Mobile Power System (MPS), Radar Power System (RPS), Reloader Vehicle (RV) and Field Service Vehicle (FSV). DRDO and the Indian Army conducted four successful flight-tests of the Army version from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast in April first week. The Ministry of Defence had then said that these trials have proven the operational capability and paved the way for operationalisation of weapon systems in two Regiments.

Close-range VSHORADS

India uses various small-range (5-115 km) defence missile systems like Russia-made Igla, OSA-AK-M, Pechora, L-70 anti-aircraft guns and Israel's Spyder anti-aircraft guns. In February, the DRDO successfully conducted three successive flight trials of Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) from Chandipur off the Odisha coast. The tests proved pinpoint accuracy and established the unique capability of the man-portable VSHORADS missile system in neutralising drones along with other classes of aerial threats. The 4th Generation, technically advanced and miniaturised VSHORADS, was designed and developed indigenously by Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Development cum Production Partners (DcPP). The three services have been associated with the project from the beginning and participated during the developmental trials. The missile system can meet the needs of all three branches of the armed forces.

Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD)

The DRDO developed AD-1 missiles, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles when they are approaching their target. It can intercept missiles with a range of 1,500 km to 3,000 km. The AD-1 is part of India's Phase-II BMD programme to develop a multi-layered defence system to neutralise a wider range of ballistic missile threats. The first successful flight test of the AD-1 missile was conducted in November 2022, and further tests were conducted in 2024 to prove its mettle.

Prithvi, Prahaar & Pralay missiles

In service for over two decades, Prithvi, a short-range surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missile (SRBM), was India's first indigenous ballistic missile. It was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP), started in 1983 and completed in March 2012, to develop Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag and Agni Missiles. India also has Prithvi-II SRBM systems, which has a range of 250 km and a 500 kg warhead capability and a naval version.

India also developed 'Prahaar' to replace Prithvi-1 missiles. Prahaar is a short-range road-mobile ballistic missile designed for tactical strikes against close targets and to intercept incoming ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. The Prahaar has a range of up to 150 km while carrying a 200 kg payload with nuclear, high-explosives, or submunitions options.

India launched an indigenously developed new generation surface-to-surface missile ‘Pralay’ in 2021. The missile can hit a variety of targets and has a range of 150-500 km and a payload capacity of up to 1,000 kg.  

BARAK-8–Advanced Air & Missile Defence System

Barak 8 is an Indo-Israeli Surface to Air Missile (SAM) designed to defend against any type of airborne threat. It was jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), DRDO, Israel’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, Elta Systems, Rafael and other companies. Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) makes these missiles.

Short-range missiles

Indian defence forces use various short-range missiles to counter enemy threats, and these include SAM like Akash SAM, S-125 Pechora and Spyder Air Defence System. S-125 Pechora is of Soviet origin and was developed about 60 years ago. Sources say IAF has 25 squadrons of Pechora.

Another is Israeli Spyder (with Python-5 and Derby surface-to-air missiles), for which India ordered 18 units in 2006. India also has Soviet-made missiles like K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko), S-125 (SA-3 Goa), Kub (SA-6 Gainful) and 9K35 Strela-10 (SA-13 Gopher), of which most are being phased out to new versions.  

Radars & sensors

India has an impressive network of radars like the DRDO Air Defence Tactical Control Radar (ADTCR), Ashwini, Rajendra, INDRA-I/II, Rohini, Bharani, BEL Atulya Air Defence Fire Control Radar (ADFCR) and Flycatcher FCR. It also has sensors and processing systems like Automated Air Defence Control & Reporting System named as Akashteer, battlefield surveillance system Sanjay, Advanced Radio Frequency Monitoring Systems, Electronic Warfare System Tarang Shakti and drone jammers.

Shakti anti-satellite missiles

India's first anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test, known as ‘Mission Shakti’, was successfully conducted on March 27, 2019. This mission, developed by DRDO, aimed to neutralise defunct Indian satellites in Low Earth orbit (LEO) and enemy satellites. The ASAT missile, a modified Prithvi Delivery Vehicle Mark-II (PDV MK-II), can intercept and destroy the target satellite with pinpoint accuracy.