Akash second test also a success

BALASORE: India on Saturday successfully test-fired its medium-range surface-to-air missile Akash for the second time in three days from a defence base off the Odisha coast. It targeted a pilot-less target aircraft (PTA).The missile was test-fired by the Army personnel at 11.10 am from the specially made launch pad near launching complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea. They had test-fired Akash successfully from the same test range on May 24.  The indigenously-developed missile, which has a range of 25 to 30 km and an effective ceiling of 18 km, can simultaneously engage several targets with inbuilt Rajendra radar, developed by Electronics and Radar Development Establishment , a DRDO laboratory.“It was a user-specific trial, which formed part of the country’s routine air defence exercises. During the trial, the missile sought to intercept a floating object suspended from a pilot-less target aircraft. The missile successfully hit the target,” said a defence official.The defence forces conducted the trial with logistic support provided by the DRDO to revalidate the technology and operational efficacy of the anti-aircraft missile. Four more tests will be conducted by June 4.