On Republic Day in New Delhi, India staged a high-profile military parade that doubled as a showcase of its defence-industrial ambitions. The most eye-catching exhibit was a new long‑range anti‑ship weapon the government calls the LR‑AShM — a truck‑mounted system DRDO says can exceed Mach 10, travel more than 1,500 kilometres and manoeuvre at low altitude in its terminal phase.
The Indian defence ministry described the LR‑AShM as a hypersonic glide vehicle carried on a two‑stage solid booster and equipped with domestic “high‑precision sensor components.” New Delhi has said the weapon will expand India’s sea‑denial options in the Indian Ocean and argued that the system signals entry into a tiny club of nations fielding long‑range hypersonic weapons. Outside analysts, however, note that images and the missile’s profile differ from classic boost‑glide designs and may indicate a quasi‑ballistic or propulsive hypersonic architecture rather than a pure glide vehicle.
Beyond the headline missile, the parade highlighted a raft of indigenous systems that underpin Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ defence policy. The display included the Surya Astra multi‑launcher with a reported 300‑kilometre reach, Arjun MK1 tanks alongside Russian T‑90s, Akash medium‑range air‑defence systems, Nag anti‑tank missiles, Dhanush artillery, and a growing roster of unmanned platforms and robotic logistics vehicles. Indigenous helicopters and high‑altitude platforms featured too, underlining a push to field equipment tailored to India’s varied terrain.
New Delhi balanced the domestic build‑up with a continued parade of foreign systems. Russian and French hardware — Su‑30MKIs, MiG‑29s, Rafales, BrahMos missiles and S‑400 air‑defence elements — were prominently displayed, a reminder that India’s forces remain a hybrid of imported and homegrown capabilities. The parade also referenced last year’s actions against Pakistan, with aircraft and models of weapons used in that operation presented as proof of operational reach.
The strategic logic driving these developments is straightforward. A long‑range, manoeuvrable anti‑ship weapon would complicate the calculations of navies operating in the Indian Ocean, a theatre New Delhi increasingly treats as central to its security. A truly capable hypersonic anti‑ship missile could threaten carrier strike groups and choke points used by commercial shipping, strengthening India’s ability to contest access and protect maritime approaches.
But substantial uncertainties remain. Public claims about speed, range and guidance have yet to be independently verified, and the distinction between a hypersonic glider, a quasi‑ballistic missile, and a rocket‑boosted, propulsive vehicle matters for detectability and interceptability. Integration into naval warfare, command‑and‑control, and reliable seekers for terminal guidance are technical hurdles that will determine whether LR‑AShM is operationally transformative or primarily a signalling tool.
For neighbours and partners, the parade is both a demonstration of India’s technological momentum and a prompt to reassess regional balance. Washington and Beijing will watch whether India’s glide toward longer‑range strike and indigenous production accelerates an arms‑modernisation cycle in South Asia and the wider Indo‑Pacific. For New Delhi, sustaining credible deterrence while managing diplomatic ties with Russia and courting Western technology remains an active balancing act.