By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : India Monday successfully test-fired its Akash medium-range surface-to-air missile from a defence base in Odisha, for the second time in less than a week, officials said.
The indigenously-developed missile, with a 27-km range and an effective ceiling of 15 km, was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in the coastal district of Balasore, 230 km from Bhubaneswar.
Test range director M.V.K.V. Prasad said Akash was test-fired by scientists of Bharat Dynamic Limited, a state-run missile system manufacturer, and Bharat Electronics, a state-run defence electronics company.
“The test went very well,” he told IANS. Akash was earlier successfully tested from the same defence base Friday.
The 700-kg all-weather missile can carry a 60-kg warhead at speeds of up to Mach 2.5. It can operate autonomously and simultaneously engage and neutralise different aerial targets.
It can be launched from static or mobile platforms, enabling flexible deployment by the armed forces.
Preparations are underway for a few more tests of the missile from the same base within next some days, Prasad said.