India’s Laser Leap: DRDO’s World-Class Directed Energy Weapon Redefines Air Defence
In a significant milestone for India’s defence capabilities, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully demonstrated a high-power laser directed energy weapon capable of disabling drones, missiles, smaller projectiles and enemy surveillance systems. The vehicle-mounted Mk-II(A) Laser Directed Energy Weapon (DEW), often referred to in development circles as Sahastra Shakti, places India among a select group of nations that possess operational high-power laser technology of this class.
The breakthrough came during field trials conducted in April 2025 at the National Open Air Range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The 30-kilowatt system engaged fixed-wing drones at long range, neutralised a swarm of multiple drones, and destroyed surveillance sensors and antennae. Officials described the engagement as delivering precision and lethality within seconds at the speed of light. Once a target is detected by radar or the system’s onboard electro-optic sensors, an intense laser beam focuses energy on the target, causing structural failure or disabling critical components. If a warhead is hit, the effects can be even more decisive.
DRDO emphasised the system’s economic advantages. The cost of operating the laser for a few seconds is roughly equivalent to a couple of litres of petrol. This stands in sharp contrast to traditional kinetic interceptors such as surface-to-air missiles, which can cost lakhs or crores of rupees per shot and are limited by magazine depth during sustained engagements. In an era of proliferating low-cost drones and potential swarm attacks, this near-zero marginal cost per engagement represents a fundamental shift in defensive economics.
The Mk-II(A) was designed and developed by DRDO’s Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS) in Hyderabad, in collaboration with other laboratories including LRDE, IRDE and DLRL, along with academic institutions and Indian industry partners. The system incorporates multiple laser sources combined into a powerful beam, integrated with 360-degree electro-optical and infrared sensors and electronic warfare capabilities. It demonstrated the ability to track and engage targets under challenging conditions, including hot weather.
This achievement marks India’s entry into an exclusive club. According to DRDO leadership at the time of the trials, only a handful of countries — primarily the United States, Russia and China — had previously demonstrated comparable high-power laser directed energy capabilities in the field, with Israel also pursuing similar systems. The demonstration signalled that India had mastered critical technologies in beam control, tracking accuracy at micro-radian levels, power management and thermal handling for high-energy lasers.
Strategic Drivers Behind the Push
The development of directed energy weapons has been driven by evolving threats on India’s borders and global lessons from recent conflicts. Pakistan has increasingly employed drones for surveillance and limited attacks, while China’s expanding missile and unmanned systems inventory presents longer-term challenges. Conventional air defence systems such as Akash, the upcoming VSHORAD and imported platforms remain essential, yet they face limitations against massed, low-cost aerial threats. Lasers offer a complementary layer that can engage multiple targets rapidly without depleting expensive missile inventories.
India’s broader air defence architecture is evolving under initiatives such as Mission Sudarshan Chakra, which aims to create a multi-layered indigenous shield integrating interceptor missiles of varying ranges with directed energy systems. Lasers are particularly suited for the innermost layers — countering drones, loitering munitions and certain projectiles at relatively short ranges of a few kilometres — while kinetic systems handle longer-range or more complex threats.
Progress Beyond the 30 kW Class
Since the 2025 demonstration, work has continued on scaling the technology. DRDO is advancing systems in the 50–100 kW class under programmes linked to DURGA (Directionally Unrestricted Ray-Gun Array), intended for greater range and effectiveness against more robust targets such as cruise missiles. Parallel development of a 300 kW-class high-energy laser aims for engagement ranges approaching 20 kilometres, with modular architecture that could eventually support even higher power levels through beam combining.
Related lower-power laser systems have already moved toward induction. The Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDD&IS) in its various marks incorporates lasers of 2 kW to 10 kW class for shorter-range counter-drone roles. Technology transfers have been initiated to Indian industry, and procurement clearances have been granted for certain variants by the armed forces. Vehicle-mounted and potentially shipborne configurations are under consideration, reflecting the desire to deploy these systems across land, sea and eventually air platforms.
High-power microwave weapons are also under development as a complementary directed energy approach, particularly for disabling drone swarms by disrupting electronics over a wider area without necessarily requiring precise aiming on individual targets.
Advantages and Limitations
Directed energy weapons bring several compelling advantages. Engagement occurs at the speed of light with high precision and minimal risk of collateral damage from explosive debris. Magazines are effectively limited only by power supply and cooling capacity rather than physical ammunition. The systems are silent compared with gun or missile firings and produce no traditional ballistic signature.
However, significant technical and operational challenges remain. Atmospheric conditions such as dust, fog, rain or turbulence can degrade beam quality and effective range. High-power systems require substantial electrical power generation and sophisticated thermal management to prevent overheating during sustained operation. Tracking fast-moving or manoeuvring targets demands advanced sensors and algorithms. Miniaturisation for airborne platforms or more compact land systems continues to be an engineering focus. Weather limitations mean lasers are best viewed as part of a mixed layered defence rather than a complete replacement for kinetic systems.
Broader Implications for India’s Defence Posture
The maturation of indigenous directed energy technology strengthens India’s self-reliance goals under Atmanirbhar Bharat. It reduces long-term dependence on foreign suppliers for certain critical air defence capabilities and creates opportunities for private sector participation through technology transfers and production partnerships. Collaboration with partners such as South Korea on advanced systems, including directed energy and mobile air defence platforms, further expands technological options.
In operational terms, the availability of cost-effective, high-volume engagement tools enhances the resilience of forward bases, critical infrastructure, troop concentrations and naval assets against the asymmetric threat of drones and precision munitions. As power levels increase and systems mature through user trials and induction, these weapons are expected to form an increasingly important component of India’s integrated air and missile defence network.
The April 2025 trials of the Mk-II(A) represented more than a successful test firing. They demonstrated that Indian scientists and engineers have closed a significant technological gap in one of the most demanding domains of modern defence research. While higher-power systems and wider operational deployment will take additional years of refinement, the foundation has been laid. India’s directed energy programme is transitioning from laboratory promise to field reality, offering a silent, precise and economical means of protecting the nation’s skies in an era of proliferating aerial threats.
As development continues through the latter half of the decade, the combination of lasers, advanced sensors, electronic warfare and traditional interceptors is poised to give Indian forces a more flexible and sustainable defensive toolkit against the complex aerial challenges of the future.
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