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India testfires sophisticated 'Akash' missile

India's most sophisticated medium range surface to air missile, 'Akash', was successfully testfired from the Interim Test Range at Chandipur-On-Sea, about 15 km from Balasore today.

Defence sources said the missile was testfired at around 1615 hours.

Akash, one of the five missiles under various stages of development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, has a range of about 25 km, with the capability to strike several targets simultaneously.

A part of the integrated guided missile development programme that began in 1983, 'Akash' had undergone a few tests earlier to gauge proposition parameters and predicted range values.

The missile uses a ramjet propulsion system and is powered by an air-breathing engine. It has a capacity to carry 50 kg payload. The missile system fire control radar is a multi-target, multi-function phased array radar called 'Rajendra' which has a range of about 60 km working in tandem. The radar and the missile can track 64 targets of which four can be engaged simultaneously. The missile has a height ceiling of 18,000 metres and is capable of detecting and destroying aircraft flying at tree-top height. The missile was targeted at a pilotless aircraft, the sources said.

UNI

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