Mission Sudarshan Chakra: India to start testing new long-range interceptor missiles, says report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, unveiled an ambitious national security initiative titled ‘Mission Sudarshan Chakra’.-Rpresentative image

India plan to begin testing indigenous interceptor missiles next year under Project Kusha, a key component of Mission Sudarshan Chakra. The project aims to create a multi-layered air and missile defense shield by 2035, rivaling systems like the S-400.

A report by Times of India stated that India  will began testing the M1 missile, with an interception range of 150-km against incoming enemy aircraft, stealth fighters, cruise missiles, drones and precision-guided munitions.

Sources told TOI this will be followed by M2 (250-km range) in 2027 and M3 (350-km range) in 2028 for the missile-based layered defence system being developed by  Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, unveiled an ambitious national security initiative titled ‘Mission Sudarshan Chakra’, aimed at protecting India’s critical establishments over the next decade through indigenous technological development within the coming ten years.

“Every citizen must feel protected,” PM Modi said. “This mission will be research-based and developed entirely with indigenous technology,” PM Modi declared, emphasising self-reliance in strategic innovation.

Sources told TOI that India plans to complete the development of these three long-range surface-to-air missiles (LR-SAMs) and related systems under Project Kusha by 2028 to pave the way for their induction from 2030 onwards.

Project Kusha, is an initiative by the DRDO to develop an indigenous long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) system. As this indigenous system has a range of up to 400 km, it is often referred to as the ‘Desi S-400’.

This fully automated LR-SAM system, which will rival the expensive Russian-origin S-400 Triumf air defence system deployed by the IAF in limited numbers. The TOI report stated that it will be a part of the overall plan to build a multi-layered integrated air and missile defence shield around key locations.

According to the TOI report, it will be somewhat like the proposed ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence initiative of the US or the deployed Israeli ‘Iron Dome’.

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, at the `Ran Samwad’ conclave at Mhow on Tuesday, expressed confidence that India could build its own ‘Iron or Golden Dome’  at an affordable cost with a whole-of-nation approach. He emphasised that the defence shield will not only thwart aerial threats but also launch counter strikes to hit adversaries "many times more."

“Many of the building blocks for the MSC defence shield have either been developed or are being developed. The real challenge will be to integrate them all. It will cost a lot of money for a large country like India,” a source told TOI.

A comprehensive defence shield will also include the operational deployment of Phase-I of the indigenous two-tier ballistic missile defence (BMD).

In July last year, DRDO also successfully flight-tested an endo-atmospheric interceptor missile under Phase-II of the BMD system. The defence ministry proclaimed it demonstrated the indigenous capability to defend against hostile nuclear-capable missiles in the 5000-km range class.