India has been on the path of acquiring Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) for decades.  In previous projects, under the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), it has been working on various laser-based air defense systems. These include the controversial Kali series, Mk-I, and the latest ones, such as Surya and Mk-II (A). On April 13, 2025, DRDO tested the latest laser-DEW called Mk-II(A), an advanced version of Mk-I. According to the official accounts, the success has put India in “an exclusive and limited club of nations” that possess high-powered laser-DEW.

Previously, India has been flirting with the idea of soft kill against aerial threats such as aircraft, missiles, and satellites in hypothetical war scenarios with its adversaries, with laser technology and directed energy

Previously, India has been flirting with the idea of soft kill against aerial threats such as aircraft, missiles, and satellites in hypothetical war scenarios with its adversaries, with laser technology and directed energy. The much-touted and officially denied KALI (Kilo Ampere Liner Injector), a linear electron accelerator or particle accelerator that generates a strong pulse of energy to destroy an object, has been in the development phase for decades. Besides a series of laser-based KALI weapons systems with varying capacities, in March this year, India tested the latest Surya with a reported 20km range, 300 kW beam power, that, reportedly, can track aerial threats such as Drones, missiles, and other projectiles using concentrated energy beams to neutralize and destroy them. DURGA II, directionally unrestricted Ray-gun Array, is another 100 kW DEWs system deployed on multiple military platforms such as fighter aircraft, naval ships, and ground vehicles.

The Center for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS), a forefront of DRDO, has been working on a broad spectrum of laser, microwave, and other beam control technologies, including the recent test of Mk-II (A)

The Mk-II (A) mounted, with a 2-kilowatt laser and an approximate range of 1 Km, is capable of engaging, tracking, and destroying swarm drones, and neutralizing surveillance devices such as sensors, antennas, and other electronic circuits.  The Center for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS), a forefront of DRDO, has been working on a broad spectrum of laser, microwave, and other beam control technologies, including the recent test of Mk-II (A).

The DEWs deployed against Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drone swarms, fixed-wing aircraft, and low-flying missiles are particularly cost-effective and efficient in missile interception compared to conventional kinetic hit-to-kill missile interception. Once regarded as the weapons of the future, laser and directed energy weapons are deemed as a perfect gray zone weapon in contemporary irregular warfare. The DEWs, unlike traditional weapons that use bullets or explosive munitions, use electromagnetic beams, high-power microwaves, particle beams, pulsed Radio Frequency (RF), and other beam control technology by harnessing concentrated energy. Hence, these, with minimum reliance on logistics and operational cost, may have unlimited firepower given a continued power supply.

It is important to note that DEWs are not a panacea for all adversities; various factors can hinder their effectiveness, including weather conditions such as rain, fog, and dust, which can scatter the laser and diminish its power.

The DEWs offer aerial defense against airborne threats. However, while there are meager benefits, there are also associated challenges with DEWs and countermeasures that may provoke a vicious cycle of action and reaction between the two South Asian nuclear rivals.  It is important to note that DEWs are not a panacea for all adversities; various factors can hinder their effectiveness, including weather conditions such as rain, fog, and dust, which can scatter the laser and diminish its power. Additionally, effective countermeasures, like reflective coatings and electronic hardening, may challenge the overall efficacy of DEWs.

India’s paranoia about prestige and political motives behind joining any “exclusive club of nations” that distinguishes it from its adversaries mostly outshines its technological and technical capabilities. The history of DRDO suggests a long list of prestige-driven initiatives with organizational competition and rivalry at the cost of operational capability and effectiveness. These technological developments offer some merger benefits, albeit greater challenges for regional peace and stability. Because the DEWs do not fall under any Arms control regime, their unchecked proliferation in South Asia increases challenges regarding their use in cross-border military operations and may strain an already fragile stability in the region.

India, as usual, is always on a path of militarizing and weaponizing technology in any possible way without a concern for the associated risk for regional peace and stability

India, as usual, is always on a path of militarizing and weaponizing technology in any possible way without a concern for the associated risk for regional peace and stability. The weaponization of emerging and other conventional technologies poses a greater risk of an arms race and instability due to a lack of any formal arms control regime or unambiguous international norms on prohibitions.

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) regulates the use of force in conflicts and obliges the parties to an armed conflict to use fair means and ways of warfare. Currently, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) addresses specific conventional weapons, including technologies based on laser energy and impulse. Within this framework, Blinding Laser Weapons (BLWs) were banned. These anti-personal BLWs, a subtype of Directed Energy Weapons, were prohibited under Protocol IV, adopted in 1995, of the CCW for causing “unnecessary suffering” and “superfluous injury,” such as permanent blinding.

The DEWs emit severely harmful radiation, even when they are non-lethal. The targets of directed energy may face long-term psychological effects.

The DEWs emit severely harmful radiation, even when they are non-lethal. The targets of directed energy may face long-term psychological effects. For example, exposure to electromagnetic beams or similar directed energy radiation can adversely affect the human nervous system, potentially leading to mental and psychological illness over time. Recently, there has been an increase in reported incidents of directed energy attacks against government officials, many of whom had developed mysterious illnesses with unusual symptoms. Although these attacks are not violent or fatal, they are difficult to detect and diagnose, making treatment challenging. Unlike other types of weapons and perpetrators, directed energy attacks are extremely hard to trace and attribute, which may encourage their continued use despite prohibition under IHL.

There is a dire need for confidence-building and risk reduction measures on emerging technologies and other conventional means of warfare in South Asia

India, as usual, sets the precedent of weaponizing every technology within its range. The weaponization of dual-use technologies, in the absence of any arms control measures, only worsens the already fragile stability and increases the risk of an arms race in the region. Therefore, there is a dire need for confidence-building and risk reduction measures on emerging technologies and other conventional means of warfare in South Asia.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia