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India tests new air defense system; Chinese expert calls inclusion of laser weapon notable but questions operational effectiveness

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun and Liang Rui Published: Aug 25, 2025 11:17 AM

India has successfully tested a new integrated air defense system consisting of a variety of weapons that shot down three targets at different altitudes and ranges off the coast of India's eastern state of Odisha, Indian media reported on Monday citing the country's defense ministry.

A Chinese expert said on Monday that while the inclusion of a laser weapon is a notable feature in this short-range system, its operational effectiveness remains to be proved, as a test conducted under preset scenario cannot fully demonstrate performance in real combat conditions.

The maiden test of the integrated air defense weapon system (IADWS), which is expected to be a part of the bigger national security shield, was conducted by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Saturday, the Hindustan Times reported on Monday, noting that the development comes days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the creation of a formidable military capability to defend India's military and civilian installations against aerial attacks and set a 10-year deadline for developing an indigenous air defense shield integrated with offensive weapons.

According to Indian media, the IADWS is a multi-layered air defense system consisting of quick reaction surface-to-air missiles (QRSAM), very short range air defense system (VSHORADS) and a laser-based directed energy weapon.

During the flight-tests, three different targets including two high-speed fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle targets and a multi-copter drone were simultaneously engaged and destroyed completely by the QRSAM, VSHORADS and the high-energy laser weapon system at different ranges and altitudes, the Hindustan Times reported, citing the Indian defense ministry.

The weapon system components, including the missile systems, drone detection and destruction system, and command and control systems along with communication and radars "performed flawlessly" as confirmed by range instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur to capture the flight data, the Indian defense ministry claimed.

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Monday that based on Indian media's description, the Indian IADWS is an air defense system designed to counter low and mid-altitude targets such as drones, cruise missiles, helicopters and low-flying aircraft, with a limited strike range.

The key to such an integrated air defense system lies in having a highly effective information system capable of distributing target data to corresponding weapon components, or the system would merely consist of separate air defense weapons operating independently. With this in mind, a test conducted under a predetermined training scenario cannot genuinely verify the effectiveness of the system, because in real combat, target elements could be more complicated and unpredictable, Wang said.

The Hindustan Times highlighted India's locally produced laser weapon, claiming that India has entered an exclusive league of countries that possess such technology, which includes the US, Russia, China, the UK, Germany and Israel.

Among the three layers of the IADWS, the vehicle-based air defense missile QRSAM and the man-portable air defense system VSHORADS are not technologically novel, but the laser system should indeed be considered a significant advancement. There are only a few countries in the world that have deployed combat-ready laser systems, Wang said.

Back in Airshow China 2022 held in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, China displayed the LW-30 vehicle-based laser defense weapon system. Dubbed a killer of UAVs, it has characteristics of light speed engagement, silent attack, continuous operation, flexible and accurate, high cost-effectiveness ratio.

At the same airshow, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force displayed a type of vehicle-mounted tactical laser weapon for the first time. It is a new type of combat force that targets low, slow, small targets like drones. It engages targets at the speed of light, is highly precise, can control its damage output, has low operational cost and can conduct missions extensively. It can either operate alone or form a network of multiple vehicles, or become a part of a larger air defense weapon system, the Global Times learned at the airshow.