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New Delhi: The BJP-led government penchant – and the Indian military brass’s support – for christening platforms, projects, formations and doctrines with Hindu mythological names intended to evoke grandeur and a continuing sense of epic valour, at times also tend to breed confusion.

The latest such example is the repeated use of ‘Sudarshan Chakra,’ Lord Vishnu’s celestial discus – meant to symbolise speed, precision, and the destruction of evil – which has blurred the line between an imported air-defence system and a planned indigenous blanket shield against aerial threats, slated for 2035.

The first Sudarshan Chakra

As we know, the ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ already refers to the five Russian S-400 ‘Triumf’ air-defence systems India acquired in October 2018 for an estimated $5.43 billion. Three were commissioned from 2021 onwards, with the remaining two slated for delivery next year.

This Sudarshan Chakra was actively deployed during Operation Sindoor across northern and western India as part of the air-defence grid, successfully intercepting incoming threats and reportedly downing five Pakistan Air Force fighters. along with a large military surveillance platform at ranges of around 300 km inside neighbouring enemy territory.

Announcing this development on August 9, more than three months US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire which ‘paused’ Operation Sindoor, Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh described it as the longest recorded........

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