India on Thursday successfully test-fired its medium-range Akash surface-to-air missile from a base in Odisha, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesman Ravi Gupta said. The indigenously developed missile, which has a range of 27 km and an effective ceiling of 15 km, was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur (ITR) in the costal district of Balasore, about 230 km from here. The 700-kg missile can carry a 60-kg warhead. “It was a routine test. The test was successful,” Gupta told IANS over the phone.
