Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) on Saturday to Missile Systems Quality Assurance Agency (MSQAA) for the Army version of the Akash Surface to Air Missile System. A group of DRDO labs, including three from Pune, developed Akash.
As part of the AHSP transfer, the production of Akash missile systems, launchers, battery command posts, allied systems, and quality assurance processes have been successfully established.
The Akash weapon system was designed and developed by the Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), which handed over the system. With the AHSP transfer, Project Akash sealed and handed over the technical specifications, quality documents, and drawings of complete weapon systems.
DRDO, the Indian Army and the industry were congratulated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who called the AHSP transfer a landmark.
For such a complex system involving missiles and multiple ground systems, DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat congratulated Project Akash for the first AHSP transfer from the missile cluster to MSQAA. According to an MoD release, the transfer process will enable the roadmap for future missile systems which are in production.
Akash is India’s first indigenous surface-to-air missile system and has been with them for nearly a decade. The Indian Army and Air Force bought it for Rs 30,000 crore, which is one of the most significant orders for indigenous missile systems, according to the MoD.
Several DRDO labs are involved in the development of the system, including DRDL. The Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad, the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment in Bangalore, the Engineering Research and Development Establishment in Pune, the Armament Research and Development Establishment in Pune, the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, the Balasore Integrated Test Range, and the Ahmednagar Vehicles Research Development Establishment.
Several micro, small and medium enterprises and other industries partner with Bharat Dynamics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Larsen and Toubro, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Electronic Corporation of India Limited, and BEML Limited to produce the systems.
