The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India conducted a successful flight test of the new generation AKASH (AKASH-NG) missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha at 10.30 am on Friday.

The flight test, conducted by DRDO, was against a high-speed unmanned aerial target at a very low altitude. The government agency said that the weapon system successfully intercepted and destroyed the target during the flight test.

The Ministry of Defence released an official statement saying that the flight test has validated the functioning of the complete weapon system, and the data captured by several Radars, Telemetry, and Electro-Optical Tracking System deployed by ITR, Chandipur, validated the system performance. 

The AKASH-NG system is a state-of-the-art missile system capable of intercepting high-speed, agile aerial threats. The weapon system consists of the missile with an indigenously developed Radio Frequency Seeker, Launcher, Multi-Function Radar and Command, Control & Communication system. 

Senior officials from DRDO, Indian Air Force (IAF), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) witnessed the flight test.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the DRDO, IAF, PSUs, and the industry for the flight test, saying, “The successful development of the system will further enhance the air defence capabilities of the country”.