India is developing SHIELD, a high-power microwave evaluation system designed to test how drones, sensors and communication systems react to intense electromagnetic energy.The DRDO project will identify which electronic components fail, malfunction or keep working under microwave attack. This data could help India strengthen its own drone defences and develop future directed-energy weapons against hostile systems from China and Pakistan.But SHIELD is not yet a battlefield weapon. It is a testing facility that could shape India’s future counter-drone warfare. Shreya Chandra has more