Two days after its successful trial, India on Saturday again test-fired the indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash missile from the test range at Chandipur near here. “The user specific trial, which formed part of the country’s routine air defence exercises, was conducted from the ITR,” said a Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) official associated with the Akash missile project. To re-validate the technology and operational efficacy of the anti-aircraft missile, Defence forces conducted the trial with logistic support provided by the ITR. They had test-fired Akash successfully from the same test range on May 24. The missile, which has a strike range of 25 km with warhead of 60 kgs, was test fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex-III of the ITR at about 1110 hours, Defence sources said. “During the trial, the missile sought to intercept a floating object supported by a pilot less target aircraft (PTA), flown from launch complex-II, at a definite altitude over the sea,” they said. Akash, an anti-aircraft defence system, can simultaneously engage several targets with Rajendra radar developed by Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), a DRDO laboratory situated at Bangalore. Rajendra does the surveillance, tracks the target, acquires it and guides the missile towards it.
