In a significant development, the Indian Army on Wednesday carried out successful trials of the indigenously developed Akash Prime air defence system at an altitude of over 15,000 feet in the Ladakh sector.
The trial was conducted by the Army Air Defence along with senior officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, which developed the system.
During the trials, the surface-to-air missiles registered two direct hits against very fast-moving target aircraft in the very high-altitude area in a rarified atmosphere.
The Akash Prime system will form the third and fourth regiments of the Akash air defence systems in the Indian Army.
Compared to the existing Akash system, Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency seeker for improved accuracy. Other improvements ensure more reliable performance under low-temperature environments at higher altitudes. A modified ground system of the existing Akash weapon system has also been used.