India, Aug. 26 -- Between the announcement of the government's plans to build a national security shield with defensive and offensive capabilities (Mission Sudarshan Chakra) on August 15 and the first test of some components of the system less than 10 days later, India has signalled its determination to protect vital civilian and military installations from a range of modern threats, especially drones and missiles. The defence ministry has said that an integrated air defence weapon system with three components - quick reaction surface-to-air missiles, a very short range air defence system, and a laser-based directed energy weapon - has been tested. The new weapon system was successful in engaging and destroying both fixed wing and multi-copter drones. The capability of using laser-based weapons to take out missiles and drones is possessed by a limited number of countries such as the US, the UK, Germany, Russia, Israel and China. More than anything else, the four days of hostilities with Pakistan in May have shown that drones and missiles will be increasingly used in wars of the future in this region. Drones have emerged as cost-effective weapons for targeting the enemy's civilian and military infrastructure since the conflict in Ukraine began in 2022. In India's neighbourhood, Pakistan has access to a wide array of drones from China and Turkey, thus enhancing the need for a foolproof air defence shield that can not only jam the radars and other systems used to guide UAVs to their targets but also bring down the drones themselves. Over the years, India has either acquired or developed several components needed for an effective air defence shield, such as the S-400 systems and home-grown Akash missile, and the focus should now be on identifying the vital installations and economic facilities that need to be guarded against enemy attacks and integrating all the indigenous and foreign military equipment into a comprehensive nationwide shield. The just-concluded test shows the government is doing just that....