In the modern battlefield arenas, timelines matter as much as the technology itself. With the Asia-Pacific being the epicentre of great power rivalries and South Asia facing India’s aggressive designs, Pakistan has been at par with modern technological trends.

India, in contrast, continued to rely on numbers and false flag tactics instead of skill and capability development. Its modern weapons, acquired from external partners, remain poorly integrated. Its human resources live under the shadow of false pride.

However, the May 2025 war against Pakistan and India’s humiliating defeat has been a long-overdue wake-up call for the country’s military and political forces.

After India’s failed Operation Sindoor and Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) excellent employment of multidomain operations (MDO) resulting in several Indian aircraft losses, Prime Minister Modi announced Mission Sudarshan Chakra, touted as India’s “Shield and Sword” on 15 August 2025.

The project aims to integrate cyber, cognitive, and aerospace elements into a unified network capable of countering aerial threats and is set to be completed by 2035. The major components include the expansion of India’s Integrated Air Defence into a multi-layered air and missile defence shield, a fused network of radars, satellites, and directed energy weapons, a centralised yet distributed command and control network, and the building of new missile capabilities across different ranges.

To regain the confidence of the Indian public, Prime Minister Modi also announced that this project aims at........

© The Friday Times