Indian mainstream media, ever inclined to hype and sensationalise defence-related news, is at it again. This time, the focus is on Project Kusha.
Media professionals, lacking sufficient insight into weapon systems, are hyping DRDO’s claims about Project Kusha’s capabilities and projected development timelines, rather than critically examining them.
Let us first understand what Project Kusha is and then see for ourselves whether DRDO’s claims are realistic.
Project Kusha: Conceptual Overview
According to DRDO officials, Project Kusha is an Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) conceptually similar to the Russian S-300, S-350, S-400, and S-500 systems.
An IADS provides layered (short-, medium-, and long-range) defence against a wide spectrum of aerial threats, ranging from medium-sized drones and helicopters to cruise missiles, fighters, aerial force multipliers such as tankers, AWACS, and ISR platforms, as well as short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
Russia is the only country in the world that has so far developed a full-spectrum IADS.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is in the process of procuring the S-400 system from Russia. The three systems already acquired proved very effective during Operation Sindoor. The S-400’s track record during the ongoing war in Ukraine has also been impressive.
Understandably, the Indian defence media was elated when DRDO announced in 2025 that it would be developing an IADS. The media went overboard, projecting Kusha not just as an S-400 analogue but as an S-500 analogue.
The former claim was a stretch; the latter, a joke.
A major difference between the S-400 and the S-500 is that the latter can engage hypersonic aerial threats. India will first need to deploy a hypersonic manoeuvring missile operationally before it can develop an interceptor for it.
At this point, we are well short of that capability.
DRDO officials have put forward extraordinarily ambitious timelines for Project Kusha—timelines that bear little resemblance to past performance.
Kusha Capabilities
As noted earlier, Kusha is an integrated air defence system, broadly comparable to the S-400, and is designed to employ a layered mix of short-, medium- and long-range interceptor missiles.
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The single-stage short-range Kusha interceptor, designated Mk-1 and having a range of approximately 50–60 km, forms the core of all three missile variants.
The medium-range (Kusha Mk-2) and long-range (Kusha Mk-3) variants build upon this core interceptor by adding a booster stage, making them two-stage interceptors. The two variants differ primarily in the booster stage diameter.
Development Progress
At this point in time, the Kusha IADS exists only as a concept, and the Kusha Mk-1 most likely as a designed and wind-tunnel-tested model.
According to an HT report, the first development trials of Kusha Mk-1 are expected to take place in September this year. DRDO expects the Kusha Mk-1 to be inducted as a standalone short-range missile system by 2028.
Development trials of both Kusha Mk-2 and Kusha Mk-3 are projected to start in 2027.
In other words, the three missiles will be developed in parallel after the Mk-1 interceptor has demonstrated the effectiveness of its design.
Based on the HT report, DRDO appears to be projecting that by 2030, Kusha will be ready as an IADS with three different interceptor missiles covering ranges from 50 to 400 km.
This projection is certainly not backed by DRDO’s past record in operationalising indigenously developed air defence missile systems. The claim appears to be ambitious but unrealistic and could potentially scuttle the local manufacture of S-400 system components.
DRDO has done well with recent missile projects such as Akash Prime and Akash NG, but nowhere near well enough to enable it to develop the Kusha system within five years.
Akash Prime
Akash Prime is an incremental upgrade of the Akash missile, featuring an active seeker in place of the passive seeker.
Other improvements include a mobile launcher and improved performance in low-temperature environments at higher altitudes. The missile reportedly has a longer engagement range of 40 km
The maiden test of the Akash Prime missile was conducted on September 27, 2021. During the test, the missile successfully intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial target.
Five years since its maiden test, the missile has yet to be operationally inducted.
Akash NG
Akash NG was first mooted in 2010. The DRDO had then projected a development time of just 18 months. Notably, despite the claim, the DRDO had not yet developed an RF seeker for any missile at that time.
The project was sanctioned in September 2016 after DRDO acquired RF seeker technology with Russian assistance.
The missile was first tested on January 25, 2021, using an electronic target to validate its ability to engage a hard manoeuvring target.
The missile was tested for the second time on July 21, 2021, once again without its active seeker, against an electronic target. Subsequent phased testing progressively demonstrated the missile’s full design capabilities.
Following flight testing on December 24, 2024, DRDO announced that the missile system had “successfully intercepted aerial targets at different ranges and altitudes, including near-boundary low-altitude and long-range, high-altitude scenarios.”
The test marked the successful completion of User Evaluation Trials of the missile, meeting all PSQR requirements. However, the missile has yet to be inducted into operational service.
Conclusion
The IAF needs a proven IADS now, not in the future.
This was evident during Operation Sindoor, when cutting-edge S-400 AD missiles emerged as a “game changer” in the clash with Pakistan.
DRDO’s projections that it will be able to develop three different variants of Kusha interceptor missiles within the next four to five years are overly optimistic.
From DRDO’s point of view, local manufacture of the S-400 or S-500 system would dramatically reduce the market size for its Kusha system, as and when it is fully developed.
However, DRDO needs to tread with caution. In the past, capability overprojections have resulted in a precipitous drop in IAF squadron strength. As a result of this decline, the IAF is now more heavily reliant on air defence than it has ever been in the past.
While there can be no doubt that the IAF should consider domestic options despite limited capability shortfalls, there can also be no doubt that such compromises should not enfeeble the IAF to the point where it loses its deterrent capability.
DRDO must keep the national interest in mind to the same extent that it expects the IAF to do so. Overstating its capabilities and projecting unrealistic timelines to secure the only market segment it can compete in is not the right approach.
- Vijainder K Thakur is a retired IAF Jaguar pilot, author, software architect, entrepreneur, and military analyst.
- THIS IS AN OPINION ARTICLE. VIEWS PERSONAL OF THE AUTHOR
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