Air Defense in the Modern Era: No Silver Bullets, Only Layers

In recent weeks, India has demonstrated the evolving nature of modern air defense—not only in defending its own airspace with a robust, layered architecture, but also in successfully penetrating the Chinese-made systems fielded by its adversary, Pakistan. It’s a reminder that defense is not about what you buy—it’s about what you integrate.

India’s air defense network today features a mix of indigenously produced platforms like the Akash and QRSAM, paired with Israeli Barak-8 systems and the Russian-made S-400. These layers—long, medium, and short-range—are designed to function together in a seamless, multi-tiered web of protection.

Across the border, Pakistan fields primarily Chinese-built systems like the HQ-9/P (a long-range SAM akin to the S-300), LY-80, and FM-90. These systems are capable on paper, but as India has shown, effective penetration is possible through a mix of electronic warfare, kinetic strikes, and doctrinal agility.

But this is not just a regional story. The war in Ukraine offers another critical lesson.

Ukraine’s vast geography—its 600,000 square kilometers of open terrain and urban infrastructure—presents a daunting challenge. It cannot rely on high-end, limited-quantity systems alone. It must integrate everything it can get its hands on: Western SAMs, Soviet-era Buk and S-300 units, mobile IRIS-T batteries, man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), and, crucially, legacy anti-aircraft guns like the German-made Gepards.