India Highlights Akash Missile Success and New Sales
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh confirms latest sales and hints at further interest.
Quick Look
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh confirmed new sales of India's home-grown Akash surface-to-air missile system, praising its capabilities and hinting at broader international interest.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Akash is a home-grown, short-range surface-to-air missile system developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh confirmed the latest sales on Thursday last week, hinting at interest from elsewhere as he called the Akash “one of our success stories”.
Developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Akash is a home-grown, short-range surface-to-air missile system that can hit multiple targets at once and includes built-in protection against electronic jamming.
It can hit aerial targets between 100 metres and 20km (328 feet to 12½ miles) high, with an operational range of 4.5km to 25km, according to the Defence Ministry. Each 5.87-metre (19-foot) long missile weighs roughly 710kg (1,565lbs) and use command guidance to lock onto targets.
Open Questions
- Which countries have purchased or shown interest in the Akash missile?
- What is the total value of the latest sales?
