New Delhi: After Operation Sindoah, India’s defense upgrades have gone ahead like a bullet train. The government has a mission to acquire or develop fighter jets, submarines and advanced missile systems, with signs pumped into military modernization. The purchases of the amount are cleared one by one, and the pace is unforgiving.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defense approved military procurement of more than 1 trillion Rs, more than 1 rupees. Of them, Rs 44,000 have been reserved for 12 mining counter major vessels, and Rs 36,000 have been approved for six regiments of the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile System, known as QRSAM.
These six QRSAM regiments are divided equally between the Indian Air Force and the Army. But here’s a twist. This is just a small portion of what the military actually requested.
The Army had requested 11 regiments. They only got three. Individual demand for the Air Force? Also, it is not satisfied. If both services fully complement the 11 regiments each, the total cost would have skyrocketed to Rs 1.12 lakh krole. However, the government was short.
Please enter “Baby S-400”
Apart from being a missile defense system, QRSAM is called the “Baby S-400.” India already has three operational regiments of the Russian S-400 system, and expects two more predictions by next year. But defense planners know that the S-400 and the Indigenous Akash system alone cannot transform the country into a safe fortress. The threat matrix has been changed.
China is watching, and so is Pakistan. And they haven’t stood yet.
Operation Sindore proved India’s air defense muscles. But it also exposed the gap that Pakistan tried to run through the waves of drone invasion. Most were sourced from Türkiye and China. Hundreds have been released. Everything was neutralised. But the lesson is stuck. Air defense is multi-layered, relentless and necessary everywhere.
That’s why QRSAM fits. Designed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and constructed to intercept fighter jets, drones and helicopters within a 30km radius. It’s not as long as the S-400’s 400 km or Akash’s 100-200 km reach, but it’s perfect for quick and short-range airspace protection in densely threat environments.
More importantly, it is made in India, fast, accurate and combat ready.
Not enough for the fortress
At Rs 6,000 per regiment, if reduced by the full army demand alone, it would cost Rs 66,000. Adding a potential mirror request from the Air Force, they stare at a bill of Rs 1.12 lakh. expensive? yes. But what is the price for a fighter, drone, cruise missile or worse still out of the sky over India?
With full deployment, India’s air defense has shifted from deterrence to denial. You cannot violate the boundary line.
During Operation Sindoah, India air defense took place. However, in military planning, retention alone is not sufficient. The military doesn’t seek luxury, it seeks survival. Against future drones’ packs, supersonic fighter jets, or long-range missile salvos, the six regiments are just the beginning.
If the government greenlights the remaining 16 regiments, both the Army and the Air Force, they will send a message that India is preparing.
And when QRSAM rings the country’s sky, even birds will need clearance to fly.
