DRDO, in collaboration with Integrated Defence Staff, has launched IRSA Standard 1.0 to revolutionise military communications. Designed for interoperability, IRSA defines India’s first national software standard for Software Defined Radios (SDRs).
New Delhi: Aiming to enable interoperability in the military communication domain, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Tuesday released Indian Radio Software Architecture (IRSA) standard 1.0, designing to ensure waveform portability, software defined radios (SDR) interoperability, certification and conformance.
The IRSA, which has been released in collaboration with the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), is a comprehensive software specification for SDRs, defining standardized interfaces, application programming interface (APIs), execution environments, and waveform portability mechanisms.
The DRDO stated that the launch of IRSA represents a defining step in India’s journey toward self-reliance in defence communication technologies, embodying the vision of building indigenous, inter-operable, and future-ready SDR solutions. The solution is designed in India, for India and ready for the world.
“The specification is designed to evolve with operational requirements. It also lays the foundation for integrating future technologies,” an official said.
About IRSA
The IRSA initiative traces its origin to 2021, when the critical role of SDRs in modern military communication was highlighted and the need for a national software standard was felt.
A core technical team led by DRDO initiated work in 2022, engaging with the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and the Services to capture operational and user requirements.
After extensive reviews and consultations with stakeholders, IRSA Version 1.0 was approved by the High-Level Advisory Committee (HLAC) in 2025, becoming India’s first national specification defining standardized software architecture for SDRs.
The vision is to position IRSA not just as a national standard, but as a global benchmark, enabling India to shape the future of SDR technology and export IRSA-compliant solutions to friendly nations, he added.