India's air defence capability received a major boost on Thursday with the successful test firing of Akash, a indigenously-developed surface-to-air missile, from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.
Sources in the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at the Chandipur range in Balasore district, about 250 kms from Bhubaneswar, said that the user-specific trial of the missile was successful. The Akash weapon system was inducted into the armed forces in 2008.
The missile, which has a strike range of 25 km and is capable of carrying a warhead of 60 kgs, was test fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex-III of the ITR at about 11:08 am IST, sources said, adding that during the trial the missile was aimed at intercepting a floating object supported by a pilotless target aircraft.
Akash, an anti-aircraft defence system, can simultaneously engage several targets aided by the 'Rajendra' radar, which, apart from doing surveillance work, tracks the target and guides the missile towards it. The multi-functional radar has been developed by the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), a Bangalore-based DRDO laboratory.
Akash missile was developed in the 1990s under the country's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) and was inducted into the armed forces following a string trials.
The Akash missile system is often compared with the American MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system as, similar to the latter, it is capable of neutralising aerial targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles.
Sources in the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at the Chandipur range in Balasore district, about 250 kms from Bhubaneswar, said that the user-specific trial of the missile was successful. The Akash weapon system was inducted into the armed forces in 2008.
The missile, which has a strike range of 25 km and is capable of carrying a warhead of 60 kgs, was test fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex-III of the ITR at about 11:08 am IST, sources said, adding that during the trial the missile was aimed at intercepting a floating object supported by a pilotless target aircraft.
Akash, an anti-aircraft defence system, can simultaneously engage several targets aided by the 'Rajendra' radar, which, apart from doing surveillance work, tracks the target and guides the missile towards it. The multi-functional radar has been developed by the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), a Bangalore-based DRDO laboratory.
Akash missile was developed in the 1990s under the country's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) and was inducted into the armed forces following a string trials.
The Akash missile system is often compared with the American MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system as, similar to the latter, it is capable of neutralising aerial targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles.
Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/akash-successfully-test-fired-surface-to-air-missile/1/197396.html
By India today
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