{"id":24818,"date":"2026-10-23T12:30:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T07:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=24818"},"modified":"2026-10-23T12:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T07:03:20","slug":"akash-missile-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/akash-missile-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Akash Missile System"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Akash Missile System Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s reported sale of its indigenous Akash surface-to-air missile system to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan could mark an important step in the country&#8217;s ambition to become a major global arms exporter.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Akash Missile System<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a <\/span><b>short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> system.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is designed to <\/span><b>protect vulnerable areas,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> points, and assets <\/span><b>from a range of aerial threats<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including fighter aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, and helicopters.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was <\/span><b>indigenously designed and developed<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by India\u2019s <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/defence-research-and-development-organisation-drdo\/\" target=\"_blank\">Defence Research and Development Organisation<\/a> (DRDO)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and is <\/span><b>produced by Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was <\/span><b>developed under<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India\u2019s <\/span><b>Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The programme also involved the development of the Nag, Agni, and Trishul missiles, as well as the Prithvi ballistic missile.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is currently in <\/span><b>service <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with the <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indian-air-force-officer-ranks\/\" target=\"_blank\">Indian Air Force<\/a> (IAF)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b>Indian Army.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Akash should be distinguished from adjacent systems within <\/span><b>India&#8217;s tiered air-defence grid.\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It <\/span><b>occupies <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the<\/span><b> medium-range layer,<\/b> <b>below the long-range S-400 Triumf <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">acquired from Russia and the <\/span><b>indigenous-Israeli Barak-8<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\/<\/span><b>MR-SAM,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>above short-range systems <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">such as the <\/span><b>quick-reaction surface-to-air missiles (QRSAM) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and the <\/span><b>man-portable point-defence weapons.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/types-of-missiles-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\">Missiles in India<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><b>Akash Missile System <\/b><b>Features<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>system features a launcher, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a <\/span><b>missile<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a <\/span><b>control centre,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> an <\/span><b>integral mission guidance system,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a <\/span><b>multifunctional fire control radar, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a system arming and explosion mechanism, a <\/span><b>digital autopilot,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> C4I (command, control, communication, and intelligence) centres, and supporting ground equipment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The missile is 5.87 meters long, 350 millimeters in diameter, and weighs 710 kilograms.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It features a <\/span><b>solid-fuel, ramjet propulsion <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">system, capable of reaching speeds of Mach 2.5 to 3.5 (up to 4,200 km\/h).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It covers a <\/span><b>range <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of <\/span><b>4.5 km to 25 km<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and can <\/span><b>engage aerial threats flying<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between 100 meters and <\/span><b>20 kilometers in altitude.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can <\/span><b>simultaneously engage multiple targets in Group Mode or Autonomous Mode.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It has a kill probability of up to 99% with a salvo of two missiles.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The missile has a 60 kg <\/span><b>pre-fragmented warhead<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with proximity fusing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its sophisticated <\/span><b>Rajendra radar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can<\/span><b> track numerous targets<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>guide multiple missiles concurrently.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is fully automatic, features built-in electronic counter measures, and is mobile across different terrains.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Akash Missile System <\/b><b>Variants<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Akash-1S:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Incorporates an <\/span><b>indigenous radio-frequency (RF) seeker<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for improved terminal accuracy, moving away from pure command guidance.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Akash Prime:<\/b> <b>Upgraded RF seeker<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and optimised for high-altitude, low-temperature operation, addressing performance gaps observed in mountainous theatres.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Akash-NG (New Generation):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Introduces an <\/span><b>active electronically scanned array (AESA) multifunction radar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an active RF seeker, a canisterised launcher, and <\/span><b>extended range. <\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>News: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/opinion\/akash-missile-could-be-indias-next-big-export-but-theres-a-problem-12220022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>NDTV<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Akash Missile System is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system indigenously designed and developed by India\u2019s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":130247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1516,21,23],"class_list":["post-24818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","tag-akash-missile-system","tag-prelims-pointers","tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24818"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130296,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24818\/revisions\/130296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}