For years, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was the favourite punching bag of critics. Every delay, every missed deadline was magnified into a national embarrassment. Drawing-room experts, columnists, and so-called security analysts delighted in dismissing it as a bloated, inefficient bureaucracy incapable of delivering. “What has DRDO achieved?” they would sneer, ignoring the quiet, painstaking, incremental progress being made away from the glare of cameras. Well, that question has finally been answered, not in press releases or seminars, but in the only arena that matters—combat. ‘Operation Sindoo’r, a swift and decisive campaign across the Line of Control and International Border, marked the first true test of India’s indigenously developed air defence network under wartime conditions. And the results were nothing short of historic. For 96 hours, Pakistan launched one of its most ambitious aerial offensives in modern history—armed drones, cruise missiles, glide bombs, and salvos of rocket artillery designed to overwhelm and humiliate India. Instead, what they ran into was a wall: India’s multi-layered, fully indigenous air defence grid. Powered by systems like Akashteer, Akash surface-to-air missiles, the Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), and the newly operational Joint Air Defence Centre (JADC), the Indian military achieved what global powers brag about but rarely accomplish—an unbroken, 100% intercept success rate. Yes, you read that right. Not a single hostile aerial threat got through. Every drone was downed, every cruise missile destroyed mid-air, every standoff weapon neutralised. And all of this was achieved not with Russian, American, or Israeli imports, but with systems designed, developed, and manufactured in India. For once, India did not borrow someone else’s shield; it forged its own.
Take IACCS, for instance. This is not just another acronym—it is the brain of India’s air defence. Conceived by the Indian Air Force and executed with DRDO and Bharat Electronics Limited, IACCS creates a nationwide Recognised Air Situation Picture by fusing data from ground radars, airborne surveillance, naval platforms, and even civilian air traffic control. During ‘Operation Sindoor,’ it didn’t just track targets; it thought, analysed, and directed responses in real time. It allocated threats, chose interceptors, and even issued automated fire permissions with AI-augmented precision. This is the kind of cutting-edge C4I network that only the United States, Russia, and China boast about. Now India has joined that league. Then there is Akashteer—India’s own battlefield “Iron Dome,” but built for Indian conditions. Inducted only in April 2024, this fully indigenous Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System was deployed across forward commands by early 2025. Mounted on rugged wheeled vehicles, Akashteer nodes proved indispensable in detecting, tracking, and neutralising low-flying drones, swarms, and terrain-hugging cruise missiles. Using multi-spectral sensors and AI-based fusion algorithms, it autonomously assigned threats to interceptors ranging from QRSAMs to Akash missiles and even L70 guns. Its performance? Near flawless. The Army itself credited Akashteer with a “100% intercept record” in the sectors it was deployed. Perhaps the most revolutionary leap came from the Joint Air Defence Centre (JADC), the long-promised bridge between the Army and the Air Force. For decades, India has spoken about “jointness” in defence planning; JADC finally made it real. It merged live feeds from radar stations, drone detection systems, and battlefield sensors into a single Common Operating Picture, with AI-driven protocols ensuring no redundancy and no fratricide. For the first time in India’s history, the Army and the Air Force fought as one seamless air defence force.
‘Operation Sindoor’ was not just a test of machines—it was also a test of people. Nearly 3,000 Agniveers, many barely 20 years old, manned critical air defence systems during the campaign. Their discipline, responsiveness, and precision under pressure proved that technology alone does not win wars; trained, motivated soldiers do. The fact that these young recruits flawlessly operated complex indigenous systems under combat conditions speaks volumes about both the robustness of the technology and the quality of India’s human resource base. Strategically, the impact of ‘Sindoor’ is immense. DRDO’s systems didn’t just perform; they outperformed imported equivalents fielded by Pakistan; many sourced from China. The message to the world is clear: India is no longer a perpetual buyer in the global arms bazaar. It is now a producer—and increasingly, an exporter. With defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu manufacturing components for Akash, MRSAM, and BrahMos, India is poised to turn combat-proven systems into billion-dollar exports. And this is only the beginning. Work is already underway on the Kusha system, India’s answer to the S-400, with a prototype expected within the next 12–18 months. DRDO is simultaneously developing VSHORADS, advanced long-range SAMs, and next-generation sensors—all feeding into an even denser, more layered air defence shield. In short, India is not just catching up; it is building for dominance. So, to the pessimists, the armchair experts, the doubters who have spent years deriding DRDO—take a good, hard look at the scoreboard. The old narrative of inefficiency and failure no longer holds. DRDO has delivered—not in PowerPoint presentations, not in flashy exhibitions, but in the crucible of real combat. It has given India not just systems, but confidence, credibility, and strategic autonomy. ‘Operation Sindoor’ will be remembered not only as a military triumph but as the turning point when India’s dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence finally materialised. For too long, India’s critics mocked and questioned. Today, the answer is inescapable: India’s shield is real, it is world-class, and it is Made in India.
