CDS Anil Chauhan: ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ to Serve as India’s Shield and Sword, Calls for Massive Integration

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, in his first detailed remarks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day announcement of Mission Sudarshan Chakra, outlined India’s vision of building a robust, multi-layered defence system akin to Israel’s Iron Dome. Speaking at Ran Samwad 2025, a first-of-its-kind tri-service dialogue held at the Army War College, Mhow, Chauhan described the mission as both a shield and a sword, combining advanced technology, military strategy, and national resolve.

Sudarshan Chakra: India’s Iron Dome Equivalent

The Sudarshan Chakra mission will focus on creating infrastructure and processes to detect, acquire, and neutralize enemy air threats, including missiles, aircraft, and drones. Chauhan emphasized the use of both soft kills—electronic and cyber measures to disable or misguide attacks—and hard kills, such as missiles and directed energy weapons (lasers). He highlighted DRDO’s recent successful test of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS), combining indigenous Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missiles (QRSAMs), Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missiles, and 5-kilowatt lasers into one layered platform.

Referring to Sudarshan Chakra as India’s own “Iron Dome” or “Golden Dome,” he stressed that its ultimate aim is to protect India’s strategic, civilian, and nationally important sites through multi-domain integration across land, air, maritime, undersea, space, and cyber.

Integration and Technology Requirements

Chauhan underlined that the project requires a “colossal amount of integration” across domains, sensors, and real-time intelligence networks. He noted that vast volumes of data must be processed instantly using artificial intelligence, big data analytics, advanced computation, large language models (LLMs), and quantum technologies. This, he said, will allow India to build a fused operational picture to respond rapidly to threats.

Given the vast geography of India, Chauhan emphasized that Sudarshan Chakra would demand a whole-of-nation approach, integrating defence research, private sector innovation, and government support. He expressed confidence that India can achieve this at “minimal and affordable cost.”

Doctrinal and Strategic Insights

Gen. Chauhan linked Sudarshan Chakra to India’s long tradition of combining “Shastra” (weapons) and “Shaastra” (knowledge), citing the Mahabharata and Gita. He noted that even the greatest warriors like Arjuna required guidance from Krishna, and rulers like Chandragupta relied on Chanakya’s wisdom—highlighting the essential interplay of strategy and strength.

He argued that India, while a peace-loving nation, must never be pacifist, quoting the Latin maxim, “If you want peace, prepare for war.” He also referred to India’s spiritual heritage of Gautam Buddha, Mahavir Jain, and Mahatma Gandhi, underscoring the balance between peace and preparedness.

Changing Nature of Warfare

Chauhan discussed modern warfare’s blurred boundaries between war and peace, calling contemporary conflicts a continuum of competition, crisis, confrontation, conflict, and combat. He identified key trends:

1. Political goals increasingly pursued through short-duration conflicts.

2. War-peace distinction diminishing.

3. People and perception becoming central to warfare.

4. Victory now measured by speed, precision strikes, operational tempo, and narrative control, rather than sheer numbers or captured soldiers.

He urged serious research into all dimensions of warfare—leadership, motivation, and technology—to make India truly Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) not just in hardware, but also in doctrine and practice.

Conclusion

Mission Sudarshan Chakra represents India’s most ambitious attempt to build a comprehensive, multi-domain defence shield integrating cutting-edge technologies, indigenous systems, and doctrinal innovation. Framed as both a defensive shield and offensive sword, the project embodies India’s effort to secure its sovereignty while reinforcing its identity as a peace-loving yet militarily prepared nation.