Akash missile

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Akash (Sanskrit: आकाश Ākāś "Sky") is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile defense system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ordnance Factories Board and Bharat Electronics (BEL) in India. The missile system can target aircraft up to 30 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 m. A nuclear warhead could potentially give the missile the capability to destroy both aircraft and warheads from ballistic missiles. It is in operational service with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. An Akash battery comprises four 3D passive electronically scanned array radars and four launchers with three missiles each, all of which are interlinked. Each battery can track up to 64 targets and attack up to 12 of them. The missile has a 60 kg (130 lb) high-explosive, pre-fragmented warhead with a proximity fuse. The Akash system is fully mobile and capable of protecting a moving convoy of vehicles. The launch platform has been integrated with both wheeled and tracked vehicles. While the Akash system has primarily been designed as an air defence SAM, it also has been tested in a missile defense role. The system provides air defence missile coverage for an area of 2,000 km². The Indian military's combined orders of the Akash, including radar systems (WLR and Surveillance), have a total worth of $5.2 billion (INR 23,300 crore)