Stage set for Akash Test

BALASORE:  India is all set to carry out a user specific test of surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile ‘Akash’ from a defence base off the Odisha coast.  The Government had cleared the project for induction in the Armed forces in January 2008. After years of rejection for faults in the missile system the Army greed to induct the modified version of the missile. It was inducted into the Air Force on March 3. Defence Minister AK Antony had handed over the missile to the IAF.Sources on Tuesday said the indigenously developed missile would be flight tested from the launching complex no. II of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea in the third week of this month. The test would be conducted by the Army.“Preparation for the mission is in full swing. This time the missile would target a Pilot-less Target Aircraft (PTA). Both the Akash and PTA teams have been camping here for a fortnight now. If everything goes according to the plan, the missile will be test-fired on May 20,” a source said.Akash is a mobile, multiple-target handling and medium range air defence missile developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). The missile system is uniquely configured and customised both for Indian Army and Air Force. It has a strike range of 30 km and can be fired from both track and wheel platforms.The missile system has been configured to be part of the futuristic network-centric operation, most of the operations having been made automated. The missile, which has a launch weight of 720 kg, a length of 5.8 metres and a diameter of 35 cm, can carry a payload of 50 kg. It can fly at a speed of around 2.5 Mach and can reach an altitude of 18 km.The missile 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.The Akash system is comparable to the Patriot system of the USA. It can destroy manoeuvring targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fighter aircraft, cruise missiles and missiles launched from helicopters.Director of Public Interface and DRDO spokesperson Ravi Kumar Gupta said the missile which will be used for the test has been randomly selected from the production lot.“Earlier all its developmental and user trials have been conducted successfully. This test is important as the user will test its performance and effectiveness,” Gupta added.