India’s Integrated Air Defense and Surveillance Ecosystem: An Analysis with Comparisons to Israel and China India’s air defense and surveillance ecosystem, centered on the Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), integrates ground-based radars (e.g., Swordfish, Arudhra), Airborne Early Warning and Control (Netra AEW&C), AWACS (Phalcon), satellites (RISAT, GSAT), and emerging High-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) like ApusNeo. Managed by DRDO, BEL, and ISRO, it uses GaN-based radars, SATCOM, and software-defined radios for real-time threat detection and response. The IACCS fuses data via AFNET, supporting network-centric warfare. Compared to Israel’s compact, advanced C4I systems and China’s vast IADS with 30 AWACS, India’s six AWACS/AEW&C and indigenous focus lag in scale but excel in operational experience (e.g., Balakot 2019). Future plans include Netra Mk-1A/Mk-2, AWACS-India, and HAPS by 2030. Challenges include delays, limited fleet size, and foreign platform d...