India is readying its own long-range air defence system and plans to deploy it by 2028-2029. The system is being developed by DRDO under the ambitious Project Kusha.

India’s own Iron Dome Plan ready to deploy indigenous long-range air defence system by 2028-2029

India is readying its own long-range air defence system and plans to deploy it by 2028-2029. The system is being developed by DRDO under the ambitious Project Kusha. According to the report, the system will be able to “detect and destroy incoming stealth fighters, aircraft, drones, cruise missiles and precision-guided munitions at ranges up to 350-km.“

The “interception capabilities” of the indigenous long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) system, will be “comparable” to the Russian S-400 TRIUMF air defence system, the report said. The Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared development of the LR-SAM system as a “mission-mode” project in May 2022. Last month, the defence ministry accorded the acceptance of necessity (AoN) for procurement of five of its squadrons for the IAF at a cost of Rs 21,700 crore.

Significance

The mobile LR-SAM will feature long-range surveillance and fire control radars. It will be equipped with different types of interceptor missiles that can hit hostile targets at 150-km, 250-km and 350-km ranges, the report said. It will be capable of reliable `area air defence’ with single-shot kill probability of not less than 80% for single missile launch and not less than 90% for salvo launch. DRDO says it will be “able to take out fighter-sized targets at a 250-km range, with larger aircraft like AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) and mid-air refuelers being intercepted at 350-km.”

Firing units of the new system can “interact” with the IAF’s integrated air command and control system. IACCS is a fully-automated air defence network, where data links are being progressively built to integrate the wide array of military radars with each other as well as with civilian radars to plug surveillance gaps in Indian airspace.