India operationalises indigenous `Akash’ missile, `Tal’ torpedo

India will induct the first batch of the indigenously designed and developed surface-to-air missile, Akash, into the Indian Air Force on Saturday, marking a major milestone in the development of indigenous technology in the defence sector.

Defence minister A  K Antony will hand over the 'Akash' missile to the Indian Air Force and the advanced light-weight torpedo, TAL, to the Indian Navy at a function in Hyderabad on Saturday. 

The Akash Weapon System (AWS) was indigenously developed by DRDO as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) and is an all-weather, medium-range, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. It provides multi-directional and multi-target area defence.

The Akash missile can be launched from static or mobile platforms, providing flexible deployment. The system can handle multiple targets and destroy maneuvering targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fighter aircraft, cruise missiles and missiles launched from helicopters. It can operate autonomously, and engage and neutralise different aerial targets simultaneously.

The weapon system is considered as the Indian `Patriot'. It has certain unique characteristics like high mobility, all-the-way powered flight till target interception, multiple target handling, digitally-coded command guidance and fully automatic operation.

The AWS consists of a launcher, a missile with a 25 km range, control centre, multifunction fire control radar and supporting ground equipment.