India, March 18 -- The first sign of an incoming missile is not an explosion. It is a signal.

A radar somewhere detects a faint track. Another sensor confirms it. A satellite observes the launch plume. Within milliseconds, encrypted packets travel through defence networks to command systems that calculate trajectory, speed and probable impact points. Before a human operator fully understands the threat, the network has already begun to respond.

In modern warfare, the defence shield does not begin with the interceptor missile. It begins with the network.

The ongoing US and Israeli vs. Iran conflict illustrates this shift clearly. Iranian missile and drone strikes across West Asia have targeted radar installations, early-warning sensors ...