Sudarshan Chakra, India’s Iron Dome, hits sky; Maiden flight successful

India has carried out the first firing tests of a new Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) that consists of missiles and high-powered lasers to take down enemy air threats.

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN, Our SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The multilayered system is designed to defeat threats, ranging from incoming aircraft and missiles to drones, using different weapons that can be engaged simultaneously.

The new system will be part of the Sudarshan Chakra project, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 August from the Red Fort. It will in the future integrate long-range interceptors capable of taking down ballistic missiles as well.

(The Sudarshan Chakra is a legendary weapon in Hindu mythology — a spinning, razor-edged discus said to move at the speed of thought, never miss its mark, and always return to the wielder’s hand. It belongs to Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the universe in the Hindu trinity, and symbolizes divine justice, cosmic order, and the destruction of evil.