Successful Flight Test of New-Gen Akash Missile Off Odisha Coast

Bhubaneswar: A successful flight test of the New Generation Akash (AKASH-NG) air-defence missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the Odisha coast was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Friday.

“The successful flight test has paved the way for user trials,” the Ministry of Defence said on Friday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the DRDO, IAF, public sector undertakings and the industry for the flight test.

The AKASH-NG is a state-of-the-art missile system capable of intercepting high-speed, agile aerial threats.

The Indian Air Force already has inducted the Akash Missile system. The AKASH-NG is an upgrade of that.

The flight-test was conducted against a high-speed unmanned aerial target at a very low altitude. During the flight-test, the target was successfully intercepted by the missile and destroyed.

This test validated the functioning of the complete weapon system consisting of the missile with indigenously developed radio frequency seeker, launcher, multi-function radar and command, control and communication system.

The system performance was also validated through the data captured by a number of radars, telemetry and electro optical tracking system deployed by the ITR.