The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) used the grand stage of the 77th Republic Day Parade to present a sweeping picture of India’s technological transformation in defence manufacturing, highlighting a series of indigenous innovations that reflect the country’s evolving military doctrine and strategic ambitions.
As marching contingents moved along Kartavya Path, DRDO’s displays drew particular attention for showcasing high-impact technologies designed to enhance India’s deterrence capabilities across land, sea and air. Central to this year’s presentation were advanced missile systems, next-generation submarine combat technologies and battle-proven platforms that collectively signal India’s emergence as a serious force in indigenous defence design and development.
The exhibition reinforced the message that India is steadily reducing its dependence on imported weapon systems while building complex, high-precision platforms aligned with modern warfare requirements.
Long Range Anti-Ship Missile Takes Spotlight
Among the most striking elements of the DRDO presentation was the unveiling of the Long Range Anti-Ship Hypersonic Missile (LR-AShM), along with its dedicated launcher. Displayed prominently during the parade, the missile marked a major milestone in India’s hypersonic weapons programme and symbolised the country’s entry into a highly exclusive group of nations possessing such advanced strike capabilities.
Designed to meet the Indian Navy’s coastal battery requirements, the LR-AShM is intended to significantly strengthen India’s maritime strike potential. The system is capable of engaging hostile naval assets deep at sea, offering a powerful deterrent against surface combatants in contested maritime zones.
According to officials familiar with the programme quoted in media reports, the missile has been conceptualised to operate across a wide range of operational scenarios, allowing it to neutralise both stationary and moving targets with high precision.
A First of its Kind Indigenous Weapon System
What sets the LR-AShM apart is not merely its speed, but the degree of indigenous innovation embedded within the system. The missile incorporates fully home-grown avionics and advanced sensor packages, making it one of the first hypersonic glide weapons globally to rely entirely on domestic technologies for navigation, guidance and terminal accuracy.
Capable of carrying multiple types of payloads, the missile follows a quasi-ballistic trajectory and operates in the hypersonic regime throughout most of its flight. It achieves initial speeds of up to Mach 10 and sustains an average velocity of Mach 5.0 through a series of controlled atmospheric skips.
This unique flight profile allows the missile to combine speed, manoeuvrability and stealth, making interception by conventional air defence systems extremely difficult.
Designed to Evade and Overwhelm
A key feature of the LR-AShM is its ability to evade detection for a significant portion of its trajectory. By flying at low altitudes while maintaining hypersonic speeds, the missile remains largely invisible to enemy ground-based and ship-borne radar systems until the final stages of flight.
Indigenously developed sensors enable the missile to track and accurately engage moving targets during the terminal phase, a capability that significantly enhances its lethality in dynamic combat environments.
Notably, the combination of speed, low-altitude flight, and high manoeuvrability makes the LR-AShM a highly survivable weapon system capable of penetrating dense defensive networks.
Advanced Propulsion Architecture
Technically, the missile is powered by a two-stage solid propulsion rocket motor system. The first stage provides the initial boost, accelerating the missile to hypersonic velocity before separating mid-flight. The second stage then ignites to sustain and further increase speed.
Following the burnout of the second stage, the vehicle transitions into an unpowered glide phase, executing complex atmospheric manoeuvres as it homes in on the designated target. This glide phase is critical to maintaining unpredictability and reducing the chances of interception.
Complementing the missile display was the DRDO tableau themed ‘Naval Technologies for Combat Submarines’, showcased during Bharat Parv 2026. The tableau highlighted a suite of underwater warfare technologies developed to act as force multipliers for the Indian Navy’s conventional submarine fleet.
The exhibit featured three core systems: the Integrated Combat Suite (ICS), the Wire Guided Heavy Weight Torpedo (WGHWT), and the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system. Together, these technologies are aimed at enhancing combat effectiveness, survivability and stealth in the underwater domain.
Integrated Combat Suite: The Brain of Submarine Warfare
The Integrated Combat Suite emerged as one of the most critical technologies on display. Designed as a next-generation submarine-based defence system, the ICS plays a central role in underwater warfare and anti-submarine operations.
Operating as a “system of systems,” the ICS integrates data from multiple onboard sensors to generate a comprehensive threat picture. This unified situational awareness enables commanders to make rapid tactical decisions, including weapon selection, launch sequencing and guidance.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the development of the ICS represents a remarkable collaborative effort involving eight DRDO laboratories, supported by around 150 industry partners and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from across the country.
Officials emphasised that this model of collaboration has significantly accelerated innovation while building a robust domestic defence manufacturing ecosystem.
Wire Guided Heavy Weight Torpedo
Another key highlight was the Wire Guided Heavy Weight Torpedo, a modern submarine-launched weapon engineered to counter contemporary surface ship and submarine threats in open ocean environments.
Described by the Defence Ministry as a highly lethal system, the WGHWT serves as the primary armament of submarines in anti-submarine warfare roles. Its wire-guided capability allows for mid-course guidance updates, increasing accuracy and flexibility during engagement.
As India expands its submarine fleet to maintain dominance in blue-water naval warfare, the requirement for indigenous, high-speed and long-endurance torpedoes has become increasingly urgent. The WGHWT addresses this need by combining advanced propulsion, guidance and warhead technologies.
Strategic Importance of Indigenous Torpedoes
Naval planners have long stressed that undersea warfare capabilities form the backbone of maritime deterrence. With India’s strategic interests spanning vast oceanic regions, including the Indian Ocean Region and beyond, the ability to deploy domestically produced torpedoes enhances operational autonomy and reduces vulnerability to supply chain disruptions.
Officials noted that the development of the WGHWT aligns with India’s broader objective of building a credible, self-sustaining underwater combat capability that can operate effectively in both defensive and offensive roles.
Air Independent Propulsion
The Air Independent Propulsion system drew particular attention for its role in enhancing submarine stealth and endurance. According to the Defence Ministry, the AIP system enables submarines to remain submerged for extended durations without surfacing, a critical advantage in hostile waters.
The system is powered by a locally developed phosphoric acid fuel cell paired with a novel onboard hydrogen generator. Power is generated by feeding hydrogen and oxygen into the fuel cells, producing electricity through a chemical reaction rather than combustion.
This process allows the submarine to operate silently, significantly reducing acoustic signatures and making detection by enemy sensors far more difficult.
Modular and Future-Ready Design
Officials highlighted that the power generated by the fuel cell, after appropriate conditioning, is fed directly into the submarine’s power line. This enables sustained underwater propulsion without producing noise, heat or exhaust gases.
The AIP system is modular in nature, allowing it to be configured and adapted for future submarine platforms. This flexibility ensures long-term relevance as India inducts newer classes of submarines into its fleet.
Notably, the indigenous AIP system as a major technological leap that enhances India’s ability to conduct prolonged underwater operations while maintaining tactical surprise.
Other DRDO Systems on Display
In addition to the flagship missile and naval technologies, several other DRDO-developed platforms were showcased as part of the Armed Forces contingents during the parade.
These included the Arjun Main Battle Tank, the Nag Missile System (NAMIS-II), the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, the Akash air defence system, the Battlefield Surveillance Radar, and the Anti-Tank Guided Missile.
Each of these systems represents years of research, testing and refinement, reflecting DRDO’s role as the backbone of India’s defence research ecosystem.
Commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat
Reiterating its mandate, the DRDO emphasised that it continues to function as a key design and development agency for the Armed Forces. Through sustained partnerships with academia, private industry and the services, the organisation aims to deliver state-of-the-art defence systems tailored to India’s operational requirements.
Officials noted that the indigenous development of such advanced platforms marks a significant milestone in India’s pursuit of self-reliance in defence technologies. It also reinforces the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, where critical national security capabilities are designed, developed and produced within the country.
As India marks another Republic Day, the DRDO’s display served not only as a celebration of technological achievement but also as a clear statement of intent: to build a strong, secure and self-reliant nation capable of defending its interests in an increasingly complex global security environment.
