With the successful display of its 30-kilowatt laser-based weapon system, India has reached a major defense technological milestone. This directed-energy weapon (DEW), created by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), demonstrates India’s increasing capability in cutting-edge military technology by eliminating fixed-wing aircraft, missiles, and swarm drones. With this achievement, India joins a select few countries that have advanced laser weapon capabilities, such as the US, China, and Russia.
The successful display of India’s 30-kilowatt laser-based weapon system marks a major advancement in defense technology. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) created this directed-energy weapon (DEW), which demonstrates India’s increasing capability in cutting-edge military technology by eliminating swarm drones, missiles, and fixed-wing aircraft. This achievement puts India in a select group of countries with advanced laser weapon capabilities, along with the US, China, and Russia.
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Because of the system’s versatility, it may be deployed on ships or ground-based systems, improving India’s defense readiness in a variety of fields. Air, rail, road, or sea can quickly mobilize it, and it has a 360-degree Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) sensor for accurate targeting.
Dr. Samir V. Kamat, the chairman of the DRDO, emphasized that this accomplishment is just the start of India’s path towards directed-energy weaponry. In order to provide India “Star Wars” capabilities, he disclosed current attempts to build further high-energy technologies, such as electromagnetic pulse weapons and high-energy microwaves. These technologies are a component of a larger plan to fortify India’s defenses against contemporary dangers.
Dr. Samir V. Kamat, the head of the DRDO, stated: “To the best of my knowledge, only China, Russia, and the United States have shown this potential. Israel is developing comparable skills as well; in my opinion, we are the fourth or fifth nation in the world to exhibit this system. This accomplishment solidifies India’s standing as a rising leader in cutting-edge military technologies and marks a significant advancement in the country’s defense technology ecosystem.
Because laser weapons have the potential to revolutionize modern combat, many military countries across the world have focused on developing them. Precision targeting, little collateral damage, cost-effectiveness per engagement, and the capacity to resist new threats like drone swarms are just a few of the many benefits these systems have over traditional weapons. India’s foray into this prestigious field shows its dedication to creating cutting-edge defense technology domestically and lowering reliance on foreign military hardware.
The successful development of the 30-kilowatt system has strategic implications beyond its direct military applications, since it shows India’s growing technological strength and autonomy in critical defense domains.
India has gone through numerous rounds of development as it moves toward more sophisticated laser weapon systems. The vehicle-mounted laser dazzler (VMLD), created in partnership with Mahindra, was one of DRDO’s earlier laser technology initiatives. This device showed off DRDO’s developing capabilities in the field, although being less potent than the present 30-kilowatt weapon.
The VMLD, which uses a powerful green laser to momentarily blind opponents without inflicting lasting harm, was created as a non-lethal anti-personnel weapon system for crowd control purposes. This previous technique, which was demonstrated during the 106th Indian Science Congress, was a significant milestone in the development of laser technology in India.
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. DRDO has advanced significantly in laser navigation systems in addition to direct energy weapons. The company recently created an eye-safe laser rangefinder (ELRF)-equipped laser beam-riding (LBR) navigation system. This technique works well at ranges of 500 to 5,000 meters and is intended to give missiles line-of-sight laser guidance. In order to accurately hit targets, the system creates a spatially encoded laser beam that carries information to direct missiles along its course. In comparison to semi-active laser guiding systems, this guidance system exhibits reduced vulnerability to environmental elements like as smoke, fog, rain, and dust, underscoring DRDO’s all-encompassing approach to laser technology applications in defense.
DRDO’s goals for directed-energy weapons go much beyond the 30-kilowatt system that is already prepared for use. Under the project name Directionally Unrestricted Ray-Gun Array (DURGA) II, the corporation has started to build even more potent laser weapons, such as a 100-kilowatt directed energy weapon. This lightweight directed-energy weapon, which would have significantly increased power over the 30-kilowatt system, was slated for testing, according to sources from 2023. The DEW technology provides high-precision striking capabilities that may overcome atmospheric and gravitational limitations by using energy from lasers, microwaves, or particle beams to convey fatal force at the speed of light, or around 3,00,000 kilometers per second.
Above all, it is said that DRDO is working on an even more potent directed-energy laser weapon system called “Surya” that has a remarkable 20-kilometer operational range and measures 300 kilowatts. This system, which was unveiled in March 2025, is India’s most ambitious attempt to date at developing laser weapons technology. The Surya system uses concentrated energy beams to destroy targets in order to eliminate a wide range of aerial threats, such as drones, missiles, and other airborne projectiles. India’s defenses against sophisticated aerial threats will be greatly strengthened by Surya’s ability to engage a variety of high-speed threats, such as UAVs, rockets, and approaching missiles, at enormous standoff distances thanks to its powerful 300 kW output. The DRDO’s methodical approach to expanding India’s directed-energy weapon capabilities through ever more potent weapons with improved operating parameters is seen in this development trajectory.
India’s defense position will be significantly impacted strategically by the successful development and impending deployment of the 30-kilowatt laser weapon system, as well as further work on more potent versions. At a time when cruise missiles and unmanned aerial systems are emerging as major threats in contemporary wars, these directed-energy weapon systems give India sophisticated counter-drone and counter-missile capabilities. Compared to traditional kinetic weapons, the systems’ ability to precisely and with little collateral damage strike targets at the speed of light constitutes a paradigm leap in defensive capabilities.
Another strategic benefit of laser weapons is their affordability for recurring battles. Because laser weapons just need power generation rather than consumable projectiles, their per-engagement costs are far lower than those of conventional missile systems, even though the initial development and deployment costs may be high.
When it comes to defense against saturation strikes or drone swarms, when several targets need to be targeted quickly and consistently, this economic advantage becomes more important. Additionally, military planners have flexible deployment choices across a range of tactical situations thanks to these laser weapon systems’ adaptability in terms of platform integration, which spans land, sea, and maybe air domains.
An important turning point in India’s defense technological capabilities has been reached with the development and deployment of the 30-kilowatt laser weapon system. With this device, India can eliminate aircraft threats up to five kilometers away, making it one of just a few countries with sophisticated directed-energy weaponry. India has more choices for defense against changing aerial threats because to the system’s sophisticated targeting, electronic warfare capabilities, and adaptability for deployment across numerous platforms.
The continuous development of increasingly potent systems by DRDO, such as the 300-kilowatt Surya and the 100-kilowatt DURGA II, shows India’s dedication to improving its directed-energy weaponry capabilities. India’s position in contemporary combat technology will be further reinforced by these systems’ increased power outputs and longer ranges. Given the ongoing evolution of global security issues, especially the spread of unmanned aerial systems and sophisticated missile technologies, India’s investments in directed-energy weapons show a proactive strategy for preserving potent defensive capabilities against new threats.
