Akash air defense missile system will replace obsolete air defense weapons in Indian Army

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Defence & Security News - India
 
Akash air defense missile system will replace obsolete air defense weapons in Indian Army.
According newspaper Economic Times of India, the Akash air defense missile system will enter in service with the Indian Army. The army will finally get some desperately-needed supersonic firepower to take on enemy fighters, helicopters, drones and sub-sonic cruise missiles after years of grappling with obsolete air defence weapons.
     
According newspaper Economic Times of India, the Akash air defense missile system will enter in service with the Indian Army. The army will finally get some desperately-needed supersonic firepower to take on enemy fighters, helicopters, drones and sub-sonic cruise missiles after years of grappling with obsolete air defence weapons. Akash air defense missile system mounted on 8x8 tactical truck at military parade in New Delhi.
     
The Army has initially ordered two Akash regiments, with six firing batteries and hundreds of missiles. "The first full regiment should be ready by June-July, with the second one following by end-2016," said a source.

As first reported by Times of India, IAF (Indian Air Force) has already begun to deploy six Akash missile squadrons in the north-east to counter China's build-up of military infrastructure all along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC), which includes eight fully-operational airbases in Tibet.

"The fully-automated Akash system is designed to defend the country's vital and vulnerable areas against medium-range air targets penetrating from low, medium and high altitudes. Its kill probability is over 88% with one missile. With two missiles in ripple firing, its 98%," said a DRDO scientist.

The Akash is a medium-range surface-to-air defense missile (SAM) system designed and maunfuactured by India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

In May 2012, the Indian Air Force successfully test-fired Akash from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Orissa, India. The missile has since been successfully test fired in ripple mode against a floating object launched by a pilotless target aircraft in May 2014.

The Akash missile is able to destroy aerial threats within the range of 30 km to 35 km and at altitudes up to 18,000 m. It renders multidirectional and multitarget area defence. It can carry conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 60kg. The integration of nuclear warhead allows the missile to destroy aircraft as well as warheads released from ballistic missiles. It can operate in all weather conditions.