In News:

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the maiden flight test of the Kusha Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LR-SAM) from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.

About Project Kusha (LR-SAM)

• Project Kusha is an indigenously developed long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) system designed to strengthen India's multi-layered air defence capability. It is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with support from public and private defence industry partners.
• The system aims to provide an indigenous long-range air defence shield capable of intercepting a wide range of aerial threats, thereby reducing dependence on imported air defence systems.

Key Features

Project Kusha comprises a three-tier interceptor family with different engagement ranges:

• M1: Up to 150 km
• M2: Up to 250 km
• M3: Up to 350 km

The system is designed to engage fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, and other aerial threats across varying altitudes.

It integrates indigenously developed Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, command and control systems, battle management software, and advanced missile seekers to provide automated target detection, tracking, and interception.

The missile system is designed to achieve a high interception success rate against complex aerial threats and saturation attacks.