We should've copied the americans here instead we choose this shitty standalone VLS model. UVLS nowadays can give any ship a proper designation (Air defence or Strike/Anti-Shipping). Nobody will know if a enemy ship coming our way is carrying a salvo or interceptors to protect the band baja barat that is coming behind him.
It's not that we didn't, it's just that we couldn't even if we want to.
We don't really had any good experience in naval systems back then and only now we have been working towards developing them.
US was not close to us but Russia was and guess what, they have different vls for different missiles. So its only natural that after operating Delhi class, which was very Soviet esque we would gravitate towards them. But this was not the case so as Kolkata was a serious departure from Soviet style warships, now what we got to equip our warships was systems which were from different countries and universal launched from them, I would be a damned idiot to even think so. We got no option and that's it.
Also mk41 vls was the only such system available and well we couldn't have them coz US. European Sylver VLS just came into being recently.
So are our ships armed poorly in air defense- yes. That's the price we way for foreign maal and not having indigenious one.
But now look at future, a UVLS is under construction by drdo which will house all indigenious missiles, which if IN supports fully and tells drdo what type of missiles they want, one huge part of the problem will be solved and drdo is capable enough as of now to solve them.
On radar front, we should be able to have next ships armed with our own radar.
I mean if IN wants it has options for future unlike in past