India develops indigenous Project Kusha long-range air defence system

Key facts

• Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the inaugural ceremony of the Advanced Weapon System Complex at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Hyderabad.
• Project Kusha is an indigenous, long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) defence system being developed by the DRDO to act as a protective shield for India.
• The system features three interceptor variants with ranges of 150 km, 250 km, and 400 km, and is designed to protect against stealth aircraft, drones, and hypersonic weapons.
• The air defence system is slated for operational deployment between 2028 and 2030 and has already demonstrated its importance during Operation Sindoor.
• Under Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces destroyed terror camps at nine known locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir last year.