India’s upcoming air defence system, Sudarshan Chakra, is being described as the “mother of all air defence systems combined together” and will integrate advanced capabilities such as counter-drone, counter-UAV, and counter-hypersonic systems, a senior military official said on Tuesday. The system is expected to provide layered and multi-domain air defence coverage, enhancing India’s preparedness against emerging aerial threats.
Speaking at the conference ‘Counter UAVs & Air Defence Systems: Future of Modern Warfare’, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit emphasized the need for proactive planning and strategic foresight. “The adversary has learnt from Operation Sindoor, so we will have to be two steps ahead in military thinking and planning,” he said, referring to lessons from previous Indian military operations.
The conference, attended by senior military officers, defence industry representatives, and subject matter experts, highlighted the growing role of drones and UAVs in modern conflicts. Air Marshal Dixit cited the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war as examples, where relatively inexpensive drones caused substantial damage to advanced and costly military assets. He underscored that such trends are reshaping warfare and require innovative solutions in air defence.
According to Air Marshal Dixit, the Indian defence ecosystem—including industry, academia, and think tanks—must focus on the “innovation adaption cycle” to anticipate adversary moves. He described modern warfare as “like a game of chess,” where India must maintain technological and tactical superiority.
The Sudarshan Chakra project is also expected to leverage domestic research and development capabilities, with a focus on indigenization under the Make in India initiative. Analysts say that integrating counter-drone, counter-UAV, and counter-hypersonic systems into a single platform will make it one of the most comprehensive air defence architectures in the region, capable of neutralizing conventional and emerging aerial threats simultaneously.
The system is still under development, but defence officials note that India aims to operationalize Sudarshan Chakra in the coming years, reinforcing the country’s multi-layered aerial defence network and boosting preparedness along both conventional and high-tech threat domains.
