India is building a new integrated and layered air defence system to tackle modern aerial threats such as drones, loiter munitions and ballistic missiles. The move gained speed after Op Sindoor, which military officials called a turning point in defence reforms. Lt Gen said system will combine radar, AI tools and space-based surveillance.
New Delhi: India is working towards building an integrated and layered air defence architecture designed to deliver seamless, all-weather protection against the full range of modern aerial threats, including drones, loiter ammunition and ballistic missiles, Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (DCIDS) Lieutenant General Zubin A Minwalla said on the occasion of Operation Sindoor’s first anniversary at Jaipur in Rajasthan.
The ambitious programme, accelerated in the wake of Operation Sindoor, marks a fundamental shift in how India conceives of its aerial shield.
Lieutenant General Zubin A Minwalla, addressing a press conference at Jaipur, said: “We are working towards an integrated and layered architecture to ensure seamless protection against multiple threat vectors to include drones, loiter ammunition and missiles.”
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From Operation Sindoor to Systemic Reform
It is pertinent to mention here that the push for a layered air defence system is directly rooted in lessons drawn from Operation Sindoor.
Lt Gen Minwalla said that the operation was not merely an isolated tactical success, it was the proof-of-concept for years of deliberate institutional reforms.
“The success of Operation Sindoor is firmly rooted in the reforms initiated by the government, including the creation of the post of the Chief of Defence Staff.”
Central to the new architecture is the integration of existing air defence systems. The Indian Army’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) and the Akashteer battlefield air defence platform have already been connected to provide a unified air situation picture.
Lt Gen Minwalla stated that this network has since been further reinforced, and efforts are now under way to fold it into a fully functional Joint Operations Control Centre for improved joint targeting and decision-making.
Drones, Loiter Munitions and the New Threat Calculus
The emphasis on unmanned and autonomous systems and the specific mention of loiter ammunition alongside conventional drones and missiles reflects a strategic acknowledgment of how modern battlefields have evolved.
Loiter munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, which loiter over a target area before striking with precision, have become a defining feature of recent conflicts globally, and Operation Sindoor underscored their relevance in the Indian subcontinent.
“Emerging technologies have underscored the importance of unmanned and autonomous systems,” Lt Gen Minwalla said, signalling that counter-drone and counter-loiter capabilities will form a central pillar of the new layered defence grid.
Space, AI and Multi-Domain Warfare
The layered air defence vision extends beyond radar and interceptor missiles into space and the information domain.
Close coordination with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Space is enhancing real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, providing targeting data to ground-based and airborne intercept platforms.
Simultaneously, India is establishing a Defence Strategic Communication Division, armed with AI-enabled tools designed to counter misinformation in real time, an acknowledgment that information operations are now inseparable from kinetic air defence.
“In the information and the cognitive domains, coordinated efforts with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting during Operation Sindoor established an effective model of civil-military fusion. Building on this, the Defence Strategic Communication Division is being established, leveraging AI-enabled tools to counter misinformation in real time.”
Pakistan Factor: Watching Every Move
The acceleration of India’s layered air defence programme is also being shaped by developments across the border.
“We know what its capabilities are. We know exactly what it has. So whatever structure it creates, we know what it has to bring against us,” he said, adding that “India was enhancing our own capabilities to go beyond what we currently have.”
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh had separately flagged a paradigm shift in the use of conventional missiles, raising the possibility that India may also consider formalising a dedicated conventional missile force structure.
