India Tests New Air Defence System
The flight tests of the new air defence system came three-and-half months after Operation Sindoor
By : pawan bali
Update: 2025-08-24 05:17 GMT
New Delhi: India’s premier defence research organisation DRDO on Sunday successfully conducted the first test of its multi-layered Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS), comprising missiles and laser weapons, at the test range off the Odisha coast near Chandipur at around 12.30 pm. Critical parts of the system were developed at Hyderabad-based defence organisation.
The system consists of three layers: Quick reaction surface-to-air missiles (QRSAMs) to destroy incoming aerial threats up to 25-30 km, advanced very short range air defence system (AVSRADS), with an interception range of 6 km and a high-power laser-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW), for countering low-cost weapons like drones.
India is one of the 11 countries in the world, which are laser-based developing non-kinetic direct energy weapons. Other countries, which have active DEW weapons or are working on developing them, are the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, Germany, Turkey and Iran.
During Operation Sindoor, India’s multi-layered air defence system had detected, tracked and intercepted targets at different ranges, ensuring that no hostile aircraft or missile could cause major damage inside Indian territory.
During the flight tests on Saturday, the system simultaneously engaged three different targets — two high-speed fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles and a multi-copter drone — and destroyed them at different ranges and altitudes.
“All the weapon system components including the missile systems and drone detection and destruction system, weapon system command and control along with communication and radars, performed flawlessly which was confirmed by range instruments deployed by Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, to capture the flight data," said the defence ministry.
The test was witnessed by senior scientists from DRDO and representatives from the Armed Forces.
The integrated operation of all the weapon system components is controlled by a centralised command and control centre developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL). The VSHORADS and DEW were developed by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and the Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS) respectively, both based in Hyderabad.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, the armed forces and the industry for the successful development of the IADWS. He said that this unique flight-tests has established the multi-layered air-defence capability of the country and is going to strengthen area defence for important facilities against enemy aerial threats.
India is one of the 11 countries in the world, which are laser-based developing non-kinetic direct energy weapons. Other countries, which have active DEW weapons or are working on developing them, are the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, Germany, Turkey and Iran.
During Operation Sindoor, India’s multi-layered air defence system had detected, tracked and intercepted targets at different ranges, ensuring that no hostile aircraft or missile could cause major damage inside Indian territory.
During the flight tests on Saturday, the system simultaneously engaged three different targets — two high-speed fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles and a multi-copter drone — and destroyed them at different ranges and altitudes.
“All the weapon system components including the missile systems and drone detection and destruction system, weapon system command and control along with communication and radars, performed flawlessly which was confirmed by range instruments deployed by Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, to capture the flight data," said the defence ministry.
The test was witnessed by senior scientists from DRDO and representatives from the Armed Forces.
The integrated operation of all the weapon system components is controlled by a centralised command and control centre developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL). The VSHORADS and DEW were developed by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and the Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS) respectively, both based in Hyderabad.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, the armed forces and the industry for the successful development of the IADWS. He said that this unique flight-tests has established the multi-layered air-defence capability of the country and is going to strengthen area defence for important facilities against enemy aerial threats.