How India foiled Pak's attack, turned its missiles, drones into duds
Firstly, Integrated Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) are comprehensive defence mechanisms designed to detect, track, identify, and neutralise unauthorised drones.These systems employ a combination of technologies, including radar, radio frequency sensors, optical cameras, and acoustic detectors, to monitor airspace for potential threats.When a threat is identified, a C-UAS platform can deploy various countermeasures. They include signal jamming, GPS spoofing, or kinetic interceptors, to mitigate the risk posed by hostile unmanned aerial systems, according to Dedrone, a US-based company specialising in counter-drone and airspace security technologies.advertisementHowever, India's air defence is challenging and particularly complex due to its vast size, over 3.2 million square kilometres. Not every part of the country is equally vulnerable, but maintaining constant surveillance and readiness across such a large geography is daunting. This is where such grids come into play.So, in order to destroy such unidentified hostile unmanned aerial interceptions simultaneously, India has a network of such systems in place, called the Integrated Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) Grid.The grid is a sophisticated network of such systems designed to detect, track, and neutralise unauthorised drones and missiles. It factors in the incoming speeds and sizes of the incoming hostile drones and missiles. In turn, based on that assessment, it deploys an appropriate weapon, such as a missile from its arsenal, to neutralise it.Though India has several such systems in the grid, a system uses its own unique variants. That is because different systems don't talk to (communicate with) one another. Like Apple products, they too form an ecosystem.Having said that, India's air defence systems are progressively becoming more interconnected, but significant challenges remain in achieving full integration.That's because India's air defence structure consists of a combination of indigenous and imported systems. Those imported are from various countries, like Russia, the US, Israel, and France. Some components are from the Soviet era too. Each system has its own hardware and software, which is a hindrance to holistic integration.advertisementThe Indian air defence grid's successful neutralisation of incoming Pakistani missiles underscores the extent of its deployment across Indian territory to safeguard critical assets, including airbases, marking what appears to be a successful real-world test of the system.WHAT ARE AIR DEFENCE SYSTEMS USED BY INDIA?India's unsung heroes, its air defence systems, are individual set-ups to deal with threats that come in many forms, including aircraft, drones, and missiles, requiring a multi-layered defence strategy to ensure comprehensive protection on its territory.At the forefront of India's air defence is the S-400 system, a long-range missile defence system imported from Russia. With a range of up to 450 km, the S-400 forms the outermost layer of India's defence, capable of intercepting advanced threats before they can reach critical targets.India has received three S-400 Triumf air defence system squadrons from Russia, with two more squadrons expected by early 2026, delayed from an initial 2025 timeline due to the war in Ukraine. In total, India ordered five squadrons under a $5.43 billion deal signed in 2018.
India's S-400 system can track aerial threats from as far as 600 kilometres and destroy them at ranges of up to 400 kilometres.
advertisementFor medium-range interception, India relies on the MR-SAM (Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile) and Barak 8 systems, developed jointly by India's DRDO and Israel's IAI. These systems cover a range of 70 to 150 km and are deployed on both land and naval platforms.Complementing this is the Akash system, an indigenous short-to-medium-range defence system that covers distances of 30 to 50 km.At the short-range level, the Spyder system, an Israeli-made defence solution with a range of 8–10 km, adds another layer of protection, particularly for sensitive areas. India also utilises legacy systems like the Soviet-era Pechora and OSA-AK, though these are being phased out due to their obsolescence.For very close-in threats, India has VSHORAD (Very Short Range Air Defense) systems, such as shoulder-fired missiles and gun-based platforms like the Shilka and Tunguska.Together, these systems form a layered, concentric air defence network, designed not just for interception but also for deterrence and kill.Tune InMust Watch
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
18 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Millionaire wishes ‘adopted country' US on 4th of July while advising Indians: ‘The way I see it…'
Sabeer Bhatia, the Indian-American co-founder of Hotmail, has irked social media with his latest post. In his Fourth of July message, commemorating US Independence Day, Bhatia also directed a piece of advice toward his Indian followers. Sabeer Bhatia has attracted intense criticism for his tweets on India. (Instagram/ Bhatia started his post with an American flag emoticon and wrote, 'Happy 250th Anniversary to my adopted country.' He completed the line with an Indian flag emoji. In the next line, he shared advice for Indian citizens on how they can turn their country into a nation like America: 'The way I see it, India can become as prosperous as the US—all it takes is a change in the way its citizens think.' Take a look at the post: Sabeer Bhatia's post on the 4th of July. (X/@sabeer) What did social media say? The share prompted mixed reactions. While some enraged social media users called out Bhatia for his tweet, a few supported him. An individual remarked, 'Your adopted country, the USA, has clearly demonstrated its insatiable appetite for committing genocide. It has waged wars more than 100 times across the world, directly or by proxy, after the end of WW2. Millions of innocent civilians have died as a result of these conflicts.' Bhatia responded, 'I don't think you should want to come to the US. Remain in your tricked out planet.' Another commented, '100%. The only problem is MINDSET.' A third expressed, 'When are you shifting to India then?' A fourth wrote, 'Sabeer, we Indians are hypocrites. Unless that changes at the grassroots, it's going to be tough. We can blame our governments, etc., but it is always the people who accept mediocrity, who are double-faced in their own dealings—the day-to-day is what matters.'
Hindustan Times
18 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘I did it my way': Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi's karaoke at London party fails to impress internet
Lalit Modi was captured partying with his 'good friend' Vijay Mallya at a lavish London party. What piqued people's interest was a moment when the duo dished out a karaoke performance. They sang Frank Sinatra's iconic music number "My Way'. Lalit Modi hosted a lavish summer party in London. Vijay Mallya was among the guets. (X/@LalitKModi) 'I did it #myway - a few memories from my annual summer party past Sunday at my house in London,' Lalit Modi wrote. He continued that he invited 310 people for the 'amazing night', and the guest list consisted of his 'friends and family'. In addition to Vijay Mallya, Chris Gayle was also spotted at the event. Modi also wrote a few words for Mallya. After thanking his guests, he shared, 'And to Vijay Mallya for his everlasting spirit of being there for me. Hope this video does not break the internet. Controversial for sure. But that what I do best.' Take a look at the video: What did social media say? While many reacted with hilarity, a few slammed and labelled them 'fugitives.' An individual posted, 'Sad reality that all fugitives are enjoying lavish lives after looting money from the Indian public.' Another added, 'I was waiting for the invitation. Hope I get it next summer.' A third commented, 'All, Please visit India.' A fourth wrote, 'Nazar na lage app dono ko.' In another post, Lalit Modi wrote about meeting Chris Gayle at his home in London. 'With the man himself the one and only #universeboss Chris Gayle at my home in London for my summer party. Presented me with his bat with which he scored the highest ever total by an individual person in an T20 match in 2013 for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru of 175 runs in just 66 balls. What an inning that was. And he was not out. The greatest entertainer in cricket of all times. I salute him (sic).'
Time of India
19 minutes ago
- Time of India
Why Indian-origin Zohran Mamdani also identified as African-American in his Columbia University college application - where he did not get through
In America, race is not just a description of skin colour. It is a narrative slot, a ticket to visibility, legitimacy, or silent exclusion. For Zohran Mamdani , the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, the choice he made on his Columbia University application in 2009 now sits unearthed and scrutinised: he ticked the boxes for both 'Asian' and 'Black or African American. ' Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Mamdani does not identify as Black. When asked this week why he selected those categories, he said: 'Most college applications don't have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes trying to capture the fullness of my background.' On the surface, it sounds like an act of calculated advantage-seeking. After all, Columbia, like most elite universities then, ran race-conscious admissions. Identifying as Black might have increased his chances in a system designed to redress centuries of racial exclusion. Critics, including Mayor Eric Adams, quickly pounced, calling it 'an insult to every student who got into college the right way.' But the reality is more layered—and reveals how rigid, colonial-era categories continue to shape lives in ways that rarely match lived complexity. Indian but not Indian-American Mamdani is ethnically Indian, born to a Gujarati family whose ancestors migrated to East Africa over a century ago. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like One of the Most Successful Investors of All Time, Warren Buffett, Recommends: 5 Books for Turning... Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Click Here Undo His mother, Mira Nair, is a globally acclaimed filmmaker. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a leading postcolonial scholar. But in East Africa, Indians were neither fully African nor entirely Indian in identity. Under British colonialism, they were categorised as 'Asiatics' and kept apart from both white settlers and native Africans. In Uganda, many thrived in trade and professions but remained perpetual outsiders—a status violently reinforced by Idi Amin's 1972 expulsion of Asians. For Indian-Ugandans like Mamdani, identity has always been ambiguous: African by birth, Indian by ethnicity, but citizens of neither. When his family moved to New York in 1999, American forms forced a new set of boxes upon him. The Asian tick-box includes Indians, but rarely captures the distinct history of Indians in Africa. The African American box, meanwhile, is designed for descendants of the transatlantic slave trade and the Black American experience. The hierarchy of racial categories Why, then, did he choose African American alongside Asian? Because in America, Blackness is recognised as a political identity born of struggle and oppression. Indian-American identity, by contrast, is often invisible—treated as an immigrant economic niche rather than a racial group needing justice. This is why even Kamala Harris , with a Tamil mother, emphasised her Black identity throughout her rise. The road to power in the US runs smoother through narratives of African American struggle than through the unrelatable caste-linguistic divisions of South Asia. Harris never denied her Indian heritage, but in political messaging, her mother's dosa recipes were a footnote to her identity as a Black woman, a Howard alum, a beneficiary of the civil rights movement. To many Indian Americans, this choice felt strategic—because American categories do not accommodate multiple truths. The dilemma of tick-box identities For Mamdani, ticking African American was not an attempt to claim a heritage of slavery or Jim Crow. It was an attempt to signal: 'I was born in Africa.' But these boxes don't ask about birthplace; they ask about race. 'Even though these boxes are constraining, I wanted my college application to reflect who I was,' he said. He also wrote in 'Ugandan' under the form's open-ended section. But forms don't read nuance. The hack that revealed his application data showed no speeches or interviews where Mamdani ever called himself Black or African American. Indeed, his political identity today is rooted in his South Asian Muslim heritage. He campaigns in Urdu and Bangla, wears kurtas to rallies, and celebrates being the first South Asian man and Ugandan-born person in the New York State Assembly. Yet at African American gatherings, he references his African birthplace, Uganda's independence, and his middle name Kwame, after Ghana's first Prime Minister. It is a delicate tightrope. Identify as Black, and risk charges of opportunism. Identify as Indian, and remain a model minority forever foreign to the American political mainstream. Identify as both, and accusations of identity manipulation follow. Colonial categories in modern America The deeper problem is that these boxes themselves are relics of imperial racial classification systems. British colonial governments divided populations into neat ethno-racial columns to control them; the US census and college applications inherited this logic. They leave no space for Indian-Ugandans, Indo-Caribbeans, or Tamil Malaysians—global citizens whose identities transcend national borders. For Mamdani, none of it worked anyway. Columbia rejected him. He attended Bowdoin College in Maine and majored in Africana studies. Today, as he challenges Mayor Eric Adams, who is Black, his identification as African American on that teenage application is now political ammunition. But perhaps his teenage choice was less about gaming the system and more about how the system forces you to game yourself: to slice your heritage into boxes acceptable to bureaucrats who will never understand why you don't fit. The lesson And yet, despite ticking both boxes, Columbia rejected him. That is the lesson no one is talking about: racial categories promise advantage, but ultimately, they remain designed to keep out those who don't fit neatly within them. Mamdani went to Bowdoin College in Maine and majored in Africana studies. Today, as he challenges Mayor Eric Adams, who is Black, his teenage application choices are political ammunition. Ultimately, Mamdani's saga is not about affirmative action cheating or woke posturing. It is about the impossibility of conveying ancestral history, racial experience, birthplace, migration, expulsion, diaspora, and faith into two or three colonial tick-boxes. He remains an Indian, an African, a Muslim, and an American—all identities that refuse to fit neatly on a Common App form. The tragedy is that he, like so many children of empire, had to choose at all—and that even choosing everything was not enough.
