Why The Latest Test Of Akash NG Missile Was More Significant Than You Thought

At 1030 hours on 12 January, a sleek missile blasted off from its mobile launcher on Kalam Island, on the Odisha coast, to successfully detect, track, intercept, and destroy a high-speed target flying at a very low altitude.

This deadly terminator was an Akash NG (Next Generation), a short-range surface-to-air missile developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The test was flawless. Its landmark success paves the way for user trials and subsequent induction into the Indian armed forces.

This test is significant for a number of reasons.

First, as the government press release states (and it merits quoting in full), “it has validated the functioning of the complete weapon system consisting of the missile with indigenously developed Radio Frequency Seeker, Launcher, Multi-Function Radar and Command, Control & Communication system.”

In simple English, it means that India has developed an extremely advanced mobile air defence system which is capable of locating and destroying enemy planes and missiles within a radius of around 50 kilometres (the exact range is unstated).

Second, it is a powerful deterrent to threats which abound along our eastern, western and northern borders.

For a fighter jet screaming off the tarmac from Mushaf Air Base, at Sargodha in West Punjab, the international border is just a few short minutes’ flying time away. For a Babur-III nuclear-capable cruise missile launched from a hardened shelter in Sialkot or Gujranwala, it is even closer.

It is the same for missile regiments located on the southern rim of the Tibetan plateau (and top-of-the-line fighter jets, once our northern neighbour overcomes high altitude fuel and combustion issues).

But regiments of mobile Akash NGs on the prowl, neatly integrated into our air defence network, now offer the Indian government the option to extend a costly lesson to the emanators of such threats, on the merits of peace.

Third, the Akash NG is a fully indigenous system, all along the chain from detection to destruction of threats. It is a shining example of atmanirbharta, and proof that India can end crippling import dependency in vital sectors if it so resolves. (Other examples include the devastating Rudram missile which supresses enemy air defences, and the cutting edge Uttam radar which incorporates advanced Gallium Nitride technology).

A key reason behind these successful developments is our fledgling micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) ecosystem which has now learnt to manufacture the essential components DRDO needs. Be it transistors, conductors, specialised machining of special alloys, or chemicals, we are now increasingly capable of sourcing such items locally, from companies who place quality above all else.

Fourth, the Akash NG marks a radical step ahead, since it is driven by a novel engine — a dual pulse motor. This allows the Akash to vary its speed and conserve fuel for a final furious burst towards the threat.

In conventional missiles, the propellant burns at a uniform rate throughout the duration of its flight. Its velocity and duration of burn is thus predictable, so if a good pilot is able to make the incoming missile manoeuvre and eat up more of its fuel in the chase, the chances of that pilot’s survival increase significantly.

It is the same with missiles, particularly cruise missiles, who are artful skimmers; they doggedly jink and duck and weave their way to a target at very high speeds, and at very low altitudes.

This is where the Akash NG’s new dual pulse motor and sensors make a difference. Not only is it capable of identifying and locking on to targets more effectively, but it can also vary its course and speed to nullify the inbound threat’s evasive manoeuvres, thereby allowing the Akash to successfully approach its target and enter the kill zone.

Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, is the policy perspective. The Indian government, DRDO, and our private sector, have shown that they can work jointly to skilfully craft an advanced weapons system like the Akash NG, through the focused application of science and technology, dedicated funding, dedicated laboratories for research and development, and the sourcing of key components from local manufacturers.

The next step is mass production, where DRDO’s role reduces, and the role of the company awarded the contract increases. But what will remain unchanged is the role of the local MSME manufacturers, who will finally reap the benefits of their laudable perseverance, from large, long-term purchase orders which will be repeated, and thus also finally get the secure financial wherewithal to scale up. This is how an ecosystem grows.

Here, it will be crucial for the Indian government to ensure that the entity awarded such a contract does not adopt the easier, swifter, and admittedly cheaper route of sourcing these components from abroad, or locally assembling imported sub-components. This is because, if such an eventuality does indeed come to pass, then it is our carefully-nurtured indigenous manufacturing capability which will be affected.

If that happens, then atmanirbharta would be affected, and, absurdly, we would once again become dependent on foreign imports, plus the ever-attendant risks of sanctions or shortages in case geopolitical winds change.

But truly, India has come too far in the past decade, and we have learnt from too many painful lessons in the past, to ever let our national security suffer the vagaries of foreign whim again. And the best example of that new tenacity is the Akash NG, which will, before long, make our air defence systems even more robust and impregnable.