India’s air defence strategy is rapidly transforming following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and ten consecutive nights of cross-border firing along the Line of Control. With tensions peaking and fears of escalation against Pakistan hanging over the country, India has leaped into a new paradigm of defence preparedness.
The transition is apparent: India is constructing a scalable, indigenous air defence infrastructure to counter the twin challenge from Pakistan and China. The post-Pahalgam transition marries imported systems such as Russia’s S-400 with indigenous breakthroughs such as DRDO’s Project Kusha.
Tensions Post-Pahalgam
The Pahalgam terror attack and overnight clashes along the LoC have once again fuelled concerns about a wider war. Lacking any idea if a future battle will be waged in the air, on the ground, or across oceans, India has emphasized air defence. A secure sky is now beyond debate.
Iron Dome: Feasible, then abandoned
India once coveted Israel’s Iron Dome. But the system failed Israel’s 2023 multi-front wars. Within 20 minutes, Hamas bombarded it with 5,000 rockets. These weaknesses, combined with India’s unique threat environment, made it rethink. Indian defence strategists perceived little utility in imitating a system designed for Israel’s small size and asymmetric challenges.
Why India Develops its Own Shield ?
India had native systems such as Prithvi Air Defence (PAD), Advanced Air Defence (AAD), and Akash missiles already. These systems cater to low, medium, and high-altitude threats. Self-reliance was supported by defence chiefs over imports. Having the S-400 already and NASAMS-II under test, India did not require replication but integration.
India signed the $5.43 billion S-400 contract with Russia in 2018. India went ahead despite US pressure. The S-400 can intercept 600 km targets and destroy up to 80 threats simultaneously—fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, or even ballistic threats up to 400 km.
Project Kusha: India’s Iron Dome
Project Kusha is DRDO’s response to the demand for a long-range, domestic interceptor. It will engage aircraft, drones, cruise missiles, and stealth weapons up to 350 km. The project will employ three interceptors for ranges of 150, 250 and 350 km and has a high kill probability: 80% for single launches, 90% for salvo shots.
Supported by ₹21,700 crore, Kusha’s sophisticated radars and layered missile attacks will surpass systems such as the Iron Dome. India wants to defend strategic areas, particularly the Indo-Tibetan border where China is intensifying missile deployments.
Pakistan’s Chinese-Supplied Arsenal Falls Behind
Pakistan operates Chinese HQ-9P and HQ-9BE systems with a coverage of up to 200 km. These defend Karachi and Rawalpindi, employing HT-233 phased-array radars. LY-80 and LY-80E provide mid-range coverage of 40–70 km. However, these are not capable of dealing with India’s supersonic BrahMos flying at Mach 3+. To counter short-range threats, Pakistan continues to employ legacy platforms FM-90, French Crotale, and Anza MANPADS. These have limited radar sweep and engagement capabilities.
Israel’s Iron Dome showed India an important lesson—no single-layer system can protect a large and varied country. India stretches across deserts, oceans, and mountains. Its threats are strategic and conventional. India requires layered systems that are affordable and deeply integrated. DRDO’s Kusha meets that benchmark.
Strategic Deterrence Through Indigenisation
India’s jump in air defence isn’t merely tactical—it’s geopolitical. Project Kusha and the S-400 build a solid deterrent that makes the message loud and clear: it’s strength, to Pakistan as much as China.
Not depending too heavily on foreign technology tells the world a message: India can look after itself—and it will do it with domestic intellectual power. That’s more than security, that’s sovereignty at work.
Multi-Layered, Indigenous, and Unbeatable
India’s air defence is no longer a patchwork of borrowed technology. It is now a layered, integrated network based on Indian innovation. From Akash to PAD, from the S-400 to Project Kusha, India is creating a shield of protection designed for its geography and threats.
Post-Pahalgam, this vision has gained speed. The Iron Dome moment has come to India—but it has a distinctly Indian stamp.
