India’s Next War: Drones, Missiles, Air Defence and the Narrative

Test of Strategic Missile Defence System Kusha - Mission Sudarshan Chakra

Op Sindoor is continuing a year plus after the first version was terminated on May 10, 2025. Note the Discovery documentary on the operation is now in the public domain providing details of planning and conduct of  Sindoor 1 from the very command hierarchy which conducted the same. This takes us to the possibility of Operation Sindoor 2 and what is the likely character of the same.

Suffice to say there is adequate information based on the capabilities emphasized in various forums and no less than Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi himself.

These are supposedly ‘impenetrable,’ air defence system Sudarshan Chakra, complimented by civil defence with the shield which will provide the offensive spear of missiles and drones.

The Shield

On August 15, 2025, on the Independence Day traditional address to the Nation, Prime Minister Modi speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort announced that, “in the coming 10 years, by 2035, all the important places of the nation, which include strategic as well as civilian areas, like hospitals, railways, any centre of faith, will be given complete security cover [against air borne threats] through new platforms of technology”.  He went on to name the same as the “path of the Sudarshan Chakra of Shri Krishna.” This is seen as a completely indigenous system and will be future proof and seek targeted precision under Mission Sudarshan Chakra.

A Year later, in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2026 Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that, “We announced 'Mission Sudarshan Chakra' some years ago, and work on it is progressing rapidly”. He was possibly referring to development of the Kusha,  a missile system capable of neutralising a wide variety of aerial threats including fighter jets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and large enemy aircraft within a wide range & altitude envelope as per the Ministry of Defence press release. 

The release also announced that Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the maiden flight-test of ‘Kusha’ Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha on July 23, 2026 against an electronic target simulating high-speed and high-altitude aerial threat which was successfully intercepted by the missile system.

Expanding the air defence cover the focus is now on civil defence which is an important facet of protecting the infrastructure and people at large. This was also announced by Prime Minister Modi from the Red Fort on Independence Day this year. “The civil defence systems that have developed in our country in accordance with the wars of the last century have become outdated and hence, I am announcing today from the Red Fort that, in the coming days, we will create a vibrant network of civil defence. We will familiarize them with modern systems. What arrangements can be made to protect citizens from modern crises? We are going to create a huge voluntary force of civil defence to overcome modern challenges,” PM Modi stated. 

Sudarshan Chakra and the civil defence system is expected to protect India’s, “refineries, the banking sector, or data centers, in a sense, a new form of combat where infrastructure and factories are being destroyed,” again a reference to the Iran and US War as well as the Russia Ukraine War where Ukrainian drones have brought down Russia’s oil refining capabilities. On the flip side, Russia is destroying the grain export by Ukraine from the Black Sea.

The Spear

Complementing this shield are the spears, drones and missiles along with counter drone systems. “We must set ourselves the goal of developing next-generation defence technologies and moving towards becoming a global supplier. We must develop drones and counter-drone systems, and we must take leadership in hypersonic defence technologies,” said the Prime Minister.

The main instruments of India’s next war have thus been outlined by the Prime Minister – drones, missiles, counter drone and air defence and missile systems.

These are areas in which the DRDO has made considerable progress though productionalisation of systems designed and tested is awaited and is a problem given the record of the R & D and Indian industry to synergize manufacturing of high tech weapons. Once inducted into service with prospects of employment these will also denote the progress made in Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence.

The Narrative

Given the experience of Operation Sindoor and the US and Iran War – the narrative will remain the third and the most important component. For it is not operational losses but the spin around these or lack of the same that will dictate success in a war that waged through missiles and drones where there is no proof of territory lost or captured

Thus, defining success in the form of future war that India will engage is not easy given that the three dictats of success of Clausewitz – destruction of military power, seizure of territory and subduing will of the people at large is not achieved. In fact in today’s war the opposite may happen in the last case as the public will and resistance by be strengthened in the wake of a destructive air and missile campaign for instance.

This places premium on the information strategy laid out in advance to follow immediately or even preceding operations which can influence the opposite side – government, people and the military that they have lost the war.  This information strategy given the multiple mediums available today cannot be an afterthought nor a documentary on the lines of Discovery documentary which dishes out the official narrative a year after but a multipronged media plan complete with toolkit for every situation. There is no proven expertise in this domain in the Indian strategic community so far and hopefully this aspect is now being addressed

Conclusion

War is a medium between competing adversaries with inevitable friction – another Clausewitzian dictum thus a plan may not last the first missile or drone fired despite multiple wargaming of scenarios. The non contact form of war that is envisaged by the Indian leadership appears to be focused on Pakistan and mainly attacking terrorist targets as in Operation Sindoor while military and infrastructure may be in the second phase in response to a Pakistani counter strike which will be absorbed by Sudarshan Chakra Mission.

Is a similar strategy likely to be employed against a threat from China, what will be the

Chinese response and will a limited strike option work vis a vis the vastness of the geography and terrain restrictions need further deliberation.