DRDO Develops 30 kW-Class Directed Energy Weapon Under IDD&IS Mk-IIA

22 September 2026National

The DRDO is developing a 30 kW-class Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) under the Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDD&IS) Mk-IIA programme — a laser-based counter-drone system designed to detect, track and destroy small unmanned aerial systems, scaling up the power of the earlier Mk-II variant. Directed energy weapons engage targets with concentrated laser energy instead of projectiles, giving a very low cost per shot and near-instant engagement. The work runs alongside India's wider drone-warfare push, seen this week in the first flight test of the indigenous long-range one-way attack drone 'KAL' at Pokhran, and complements kinetic air-defence layers already in service.

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DRDO was established in 1958; HQ New Delhi; functions under the Ministry of Defence | Pokhran in Rajasthan is India's principal weapons and missile test range | Directed Energy Weapons use laser or microwave energy instead of projectiles

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