In yet another exemplary achievement in the space of defence for India, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test-fired the Akash-NG surface-to-air missile air defence system off the coast of Odisha in Balasore.
“This is the second test firing of the 30-kilometre strike-range air defence missile systems in last two days,” the DRDO said in a statement.
The flight trial was conducted from a land-based platform with all weapon system elements, such as the Multifunction Radar, Command, Control and Communication System and launcher participating in deployment configuration.
The missile defence system was developed by the Hyderabad-based Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories.
“In order to capture the flight data, the Integrated Test Range (ITR) deployed a number of range stations, like the Electro Optical Tracking System, Radar and Telemetry. The flawless performance of the entire weapon system has been confirmed by complete flight data captured by these systems. During the test, the missile demonstrated high manoeuvrability required for neutralising fast and agile aerial threats,” the Defence Ministry said.
The Akash-NG weapon system will prove to be an able ground support for the air defence capability of the Indian Air Force. Defence production companies such as Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) also participated in the trials.
Defence Ministry Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, BDL, BEL, Indian Air Force and the Indian defence industry for the successful tests.
In another major ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ push, the DRDO also successfully tested the indigenously-developed low weight, ‘fire and forget’ Man Portable Antitank Guided Missile (MPATGM) on July 21.
The missile system was launched from a man-portable launcher integrated with the thermal site.
“The missile hit the target in direct attack mode and destroyed it with precision. The test has validated the minimum range successfully. All the mission objectives were met. The missile has already been successfully flight tested for the maximum range,” the DRDO said.
