India test-fires Akash missile twice

India Saturday successfully test-fired its Akash surface-to-air missile twice from a defence base in Odisha, an official said. 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, 230 km from here.

"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 M.V.K.V. Prasad told IANS. Both tests were successful, he 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.

Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Akash is being produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited as the nodal production agency with the involvement of Bharat Electronics Limited and a large number of other industries.