Indian Air Force Orders Akash Missiles

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signed a contract worth INR 499 crore ($67 million) to provide Akash missiles to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

“BDL signed a contract worth of INR 499 Crore for manufacture & supply of Akash Missiles to IAF,” Siddharth Mishra, Chairman & Managing Director of BDL, tweeted Thursday.

A formal contract was signed by the Indian Ministry of Defence and BDL on July 8.

Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by BDL. Surveillance and Fire control radar, tactical control and command center and missile launcher are developed by Bharat Electronics (BEL), Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division and Larsen & Toubro.

Akash can target aircraft up to 50-80 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 m. The system provides air defense missile coverage for an area of 2,000 km². It can neutralize aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles as well as ballistic missiles.

An Akash battery comprises a single Rajendra 3D passive electronically scanned array radar and four self-propelled Launchers (3 Akash SAMs each), all of which are interlinked. Each battery can track up to 64 targets and attack up to 12 of them. The missile has a 60 kg high-explosive, pre-fragmented warhead with a proximity fuse. The Akash system is fully mobile and capable of protecting a moving convoy of vehicles.