Indian Army Set To Procure AK630 Air Defence Guns To Protect Civilians Along Pak Border

In a significant move to bolster air defence capabilities, the Indian Army has issued a tender to procure AK-630 air defence guns from the state-owned Advanced Weapon and Equipment India Ltd (AWEIL).

“Indian Army Air Defence has floated an RFP (Request for Proposal) for the procurement of six AK-630 Air Defence Gun Systems with AWEIL. The system sought is a 30mm multi-barrel mobile air defence gun system with a high rate of fire,” defence officials said.

The project, under Mission Sudarshan Chakra, a major national security initiative announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address, aims to enhance security in sensitive and populous regions close to the Pakistan border against evolving aerial threats such as drones, loiter

munitions, and rockets, defence officials said.

The new systems are intended to form part of the Army’s layered air defence network, with a specific focus on safeguarding the Air Littoral — the low-altitude airspace up to 10,000 metres above ground level.

The tender for buying the air defence system has been issued as part of lessons learnt during Operation Sindoor, where the Pakistan Army carried out direct attacks on civilians and religious buildings in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, officials added.

Need For Securing Air Littoral

The new systems are intended to secure the Air Littoral, the low-level airspace up to 10,000 metres directly above land forces.

This zone is critical in warfare as it is permanently used by Army helicopters, artillery rockets, and surface-to-surface missiles and serves as the immediate aerial envelope over ground operations.

In border regions, it also covers populated areas including towns, villages, schools, hospitals, and religious institutions, making its security vital for both strategic and humanitarian reasons.

The Indian Army, as the primary custodian of this airspace, is tasked with securing it from low-cost, high-impact aerial threats. The induction of the AK630 system is seen as a direct response to this challenge.

All About AK630

The AK630 gun system is mounted on a trailer and towed by a high-mobility vehicle, providing flexibility and rapid deployment. Its main features include:

• Cyclic Rate of fire up to 3,000 rounds per minute (creates a wall of air defence shells, hence destroys approaching hostile aerial objects).

• Effective Range of 4 to 6 km (best suited against unconventional threats of drones, loiter munitions, rockets, mortars).

• All-weather Fire Control System for target detection and engagement during day/ night and adverse weather too.

As per defence officials, AK630 will be utilised to thwart the threat from URAM (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Rocket, Artillery and Mortar) and will be used for the protection of key population centres and Centres of Faith in close proximity to the international border and Line of Control (LoC).

The system will be integrated into the Army’s wider air-defence command-and-control architecture, Akashteer, and will form an important component of the Sudarshan Chakra Shield being developed for security.

Learning From Recent Conflicts

The urgency for such systems is underscored by lessons from recent conflicts. The October 2023 attacks on Israel from Gaza demonstrated how low-cost aerial weapons can cripple civilian areas.

During the four-day cross-border clashes between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan had carried out direct attacks on civilians and religious buildings in border states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. Along with the Indian Air Force, the army’s air defence played a key role in thwarting the attacks.