Marking a significant advancement in India’s air defence capabilities, the Indian Army on Wednesday successfully conducted a series of high-altitude trials of the indigenously developed Akash Prime surface-to-air missile system in Ladakh.

The trials were carried out by the Fire and Fury Corps in collaboration with senior scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who are responsible for developing the new missile system. 

The two-day trial was conducted at an altitude of over 15,000 feet in eastern Ladakh, where the Akash Prime successfully hit two fast-moving aerial targets in a high-altitude atmosphere amid extreme weather conditions.

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What is the Akash Prime?

The Akash air defence system serves as a medium-range, surface-to-air missile platform which is designed to protect mobile, semi-mobile and static military equipment and vehicles from a wide variety of aerial threats. The system deployment at altitudes up to 4,500 metres can strike down aerial targets within a range of 25 to 30 kilometres.

“In pursuance of the #IndianArmy’s Decade of Transformation, Fire and Fury Corps conducted an Integrated Firing Exercise in Ladakh aimed at enhancing jointness and validation of Tactics, Techniques and Procedures, incorporating New Generation Equipments & Battlefield Equalisers,” the Corps posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Akash Prime is all set to be added to the third and fourth regiments of the Indian Army’s Akash Air defence system. The recently tested missile system, which comes equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker that enables precision targeting in extreme weather conditions, stands to seriously improve India’s aerial defence capabilities.

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Officials further disclosed that the Akash defence system was initially used during Operation Sindoor to counter aerial threats from Pakistan, where it had demonstrated great results.