28.4.14

Akash testfired

India on Saturday successfully test-fired its Akash surface-to-air missile twice from a defence base in Odisha. The indigenously developed missile, with a 27-km range and an effective ceiling of 15 km, was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in the coastal district of Balasore.
“There are different conditions in which Akash has to be improved. Today’s test was one with incoming target and the second with receding or outgoing target,” test range director MVKV Prasad said. Both tests were successful, he said. Each missile targeted a toe body supported by Pilot Less Target Aircraft (PTA) ‘Lakshya’, defence sources said.
The 700-kg, all-weather missile can carry a 60-kg warhead at speeds of up to Mach 2.5. It can operate autonomously and simultaneously engage and neutralise different aerial targets. The missile can be launched from static or mobile platforms, enabling flexible deployment by the armed forces.
Akash is a medium range surface-to-air anti-aircraft defence system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. While the Air-force version has already been inducted, the Army version is in the final stage of induction into the armed forces. With the capability to neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles, defence experts compare Akash to the US’ MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile

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