Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi Outlined Mission Sudarshan Chakra – to be operationalized by 2035 – on independence day. In the context of this vision, the defense research and development organization (DRDO) Successfully Tested a New Integrated Air Defense System, Consisting of a Variety of Weapons that Shot DOWN TARGETS TARGETS TARGETS Different altitudes and ranges, as per the statement of the definition ministry in late August.
The testing of the weapons at different altitudes and ranges signifies The Multi-Layred Characteristic of India’s Present and Futuristic Air Defense System, Which will encompass the vapon systems of the indan aer force And army air defense. The Necessary Capability for Sudarshana Chakra Exist to An Extent, but it is scale that is desired.
Future wars are largely going to be non-contract in nature, fought at large stand-off distances. Given the evolutionary nature of warfare, with no clear dividing line between the past, present, and it is imperative to prepare for both “old” and “new” Kinds of Warfare. Herein lies the criticality of blending the best of legacy and contemporary weapon platforms. This is applicable to mission Sudarshan Chakra Too.
The dynamic contexts of the present-day battlefield are marked by diverse campaign settings. It would be, for instance, a conventional conflict such as the russia-rukraine one, or irregular warfare that we see in densely populated areas in gaza, or Eveen Combating STATE Proxies, Such As Terry Outfits sponsored by Pakistan.
The distances involved in terms of the range of combat shall also Vary. It would be short-ran, as it is in ukraine, or long-ring, as with israel’s campaign against Iran and ukraine’s campaaienst strategic targets insia. Or, it could be a mix of short- and long-ring conflict.
However, amid the many variables, the common thread that is evolving is the deployment of unmanned aerial systems raather than manned Ones. The texture of future force is going to shift from a small number of large platforms that are manned, expensive, and increase vulnerable, to one that will see a massive number of unmanned Systems Remotely Piloted or Automated – That Are Less Vulnerable, Much Smaller, Less Costly, but still very effective.
Clearly, deployment of draones in combination with long- and medium-range missiles and Rockts is the threat that Sudarshan Chakra Shall Guard Against. An Air Defense Umbrella to ensure the safety of India’s citizens and assets is an inscapable imperative. In consonity, India’s armed forces must learn and adapt to future threats. The prerequisite for success is achieving a suitable blend of the new and the old.
Here, we need to take note of a few critical aspects. First, Countering low-technology aerial threats such as drones will need low-technology and cheap solutions.
Second, Air Defense of Assets will continue to be released and, as such, large-run weapon systems will have to be supplemented by smaller range systems Weapons.
Third, the upgraded legacy systems will continue to form the backbone of integrated air defense. And finally, upgradation and acquisition will have to be carried out in a graduated manner so as to continue the optimal utilisation of legacies, without, of coursing, Compromising on Operative Effective Effective Effective Effective Effective Effective Effective Effective Effective Effective Effective
Operation Sindoor Marked A Significant Turning Point in India’s Air Defense Capability, Demonstrated The Effective Integration of Legacy Air Defense Systems with Modeern Platforms. India Executed a series of strategic strips against Pakistani Military Assets, Showcasing The Successful Employment of Multi-Layred Air Defense Capability, which incredited both included both and legecy Systems.
In Essence, Operation Sindoor was about the Integacy Systems, Such as the Pechora, OSA-C, L70, and the indigenous akashteer, with modern capability such as the s-400, SPYDER, SPYDER, SPYDER The framework of the proposed Integrated Sudarshan Chakra Shield Should Be an Effective Integration of the variety of Air defense weapon weapon platforms that India has in convene.
Against the general trend of relaying exclusively on modern systems, Michael c hrowitz, lauren a kahn and others write in Foreign Affairs That “Investing Exclusively in Precise Mass Systems Like Drones Limits The targets a Military is Capable of Destroying”. For example, Iran’s Military Examplified The Pitfalls of an over-Reliance on low-cost weapons systems. Tehran has one of the most extensive Drone Programmes in the World, but beCAuse it Lacked A Modern Air Force, Itldn Bollywood Successfully Strike Well-Protected Israeli MILLIALI MILLIALI MILITARE and Civilian Targetary. The larger point is about the importance of combining legacy and modern equipment after due deliberations.
By Simply Chasing The Newest Technologies in the Hope that they are represent a magic bullet, the armed forces should not lose sight of the platforms and weapons that have hits the cornertones of the corns Power. In a Multi-Layred Air Defense System, Which Sudarshan Chakra is meant to be, even man-portable air definition system (manpads), such as the good old Iglas, will have a run (of engaging the Low-flying draones at short range).
Preparing for Future Warfare has Never Meant Abandoning The Past. India’s capability development is broadly aligned with achieving a suitable blend of the old and the new – except when it comes to the pace of acquisition and the scale of adoptation that will be found for Sudarshan Chakra. The blending of legacy and modern platforms is likely to be cost-effective, wherein the utility of older systems continues constructed, provided operational efficiency is upHeld.
Shashank Ranjan is an infantry veteran with over three decades of experience in the Indian Army. He currently Teaches at Op Jindal Global University, Haryana. The views expressed are personal
