Overview

• DRDO’s BK Das detailed a four-part architecture of surveillance, detection, tracking and identification, including an AI-powered knowledge base to classify threats.
• The system design calls for long-range electro‑optic and infrared sensors paired with radars, with intercept options ranging from long- and intermediate‑range missiles to electronic warfare ‘soft kills’ and close‑in laser‑guided strikes.
• Das said detection, tracking, surveillance and missile systems have been prepared, with models integrated and deployed in parts as research advances in algorithms, signal processing, radars and precision missiles.
• DRDO plans to enlist public sector undertakings and private firms across India’s defence industry to build the system as an indigenous effort.
• Modi’s Independence Day announcement set a 2035 protection objective for key sites, while analysis highlights likely integration with the IACCS, current reliance on three S‑400 units, and estimates of $15–20 billion upfront and over $3 billion in annual operating costs.