As part of user trials, India on Thursday fired several times the indigenously-developed surface-to-air Akash missile from the lC-III Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here.
“Three rounds of test were carried out by IAF personnel aiming at para-barrel targets between 11 am and 2 pm,” said sources. The tests were successful, said a senior scientist associated with the mission. Akash is a mobile, multiple-target handling and short-range air defence missile developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). The missile, which can fly at a speed of around 2.5 Mach, can reach an altitude of 18 km. It is meant both for the Army and the Air Force. Having a strike range of about 27 km, it can be fired from both track and wheel platforms. The missile has a launch weight of 720 kg, a length of 5.8 metre and a diameter of 35 cm and can carry a payload of 50 kg. It is supported by multi-target and multi-function phased array fire control radar called ‘Rajendra’, capable of tracking 64 targets and guiding up to 12 missiles simultaneously. It can destroy manoeuvring targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fighter aircraft, cruise missiles and missiles launched from helicopters.