The maiden test-firing of the DRDO-developed, 40km-range Akash-NG E-SHORADS was the culmination of a six-year R & D effort that had begun in 2014 to fulfil an Indian Air Force-specific requirement for a quick-reaction E-SHORADS that not only satisfied the IAF’s demand for a smaller deployment footprint area-wise, but also had a far-longer and cheaper service-life.
Consequently, as sound common-sense would demand, it was decided at the outset that the command-n-control and fire-control systems of the Akash-NG would be almost identical to those of the QR-SAM. In addition, a cannisterised missile (like the 30km-range QR-SAM) was specified, since the existing Akash-1 and Akash-1S missiles have to be stored separately in pressurised missile-containers and consequently have to be loaded and unloaded before and after use. This in turn reduced the service-life of the Akash-1 and Akash-1S missiles.
While the 28km-range Akash-1 and Akash-1S missiles being stored in pressurised containers is acceptable to the Indian Army (since the Army-specific Akash-1/Akash-1S E-SHORADS are deployed only during exercises or wartime), the IAF preferred to have cannister-encased missiles in ready-to-fire configuration (like the Barak-8 MR-SAM and Barak-8ER LR-SAM) since the IAF’s Akash-NG Squadrons are required to provide 24/7 and year-round air-defence coverage and hence the usage of fully exposed Akash-1/Akash-1S missiles becomes maintenance-heavy and costly to maintain in serviceable condition.
Each Akash-NG Squadron will include the ADTCR acting as the medium-power radar (derived from the Arudhra MPR’s design), the BSR and the BMFR—an arrangement similar to that adopted for the QR-SAM.
The Ku-band ‘Netra’ active radar seeker and RF-based proximity fuze for Akash-NG has been designed and developed by the DRDO’s Hyderabad-based Research Centre Imarat (RCI), while series-production will be undertaken by the KALYANI Group.
From the above, one can safely infer that for the Indian Army’s E-SHORADS requirement, the QR-SAM will be the definitiove solutipon, for the IAF’s corresponding LL-QRM requirement, the Akash-NG will be the preferred choice and will in future join the existing imported RAFAEL-supplied SpyDer-MR QR-SAM/LL-QRM units.
The MR-SAM requirements of both the Indian Army and Indian Air Force will be met by the Barak-8, while the LR-SAM requirement of the latter will be met by the Barak-8ER. The XR-SAM now under development by the DRDO will be joining the five imported S-400 Squadrons in future.
