"Happiest Day...": The Man Behind Akash System That Stopped Pak Missiles

NDTV

09-05-2025

New Delhi:
The indigenously developed Akash missile system was instrumental in neutralising missiles and drones and protecting cities in west India when Pakistan attacked Thursday night.
The Akash system - a surface-to-air system designed to engage multiple targets simultaneously - was developed over 15 years by Dr Prahlada Ramarao, a former DRDO scientist.
"It is the happiest day of life... seeing my baby work so accurately and beautifully in shooting down incoming enemy aerial targets," an elated Dr Ramarao told NDTV. He said he had tears in his eyes when he saw "it worked beyond expectations... engaging incoming targets effectively".
Now 78 years old, he was the youngest Project Director for the Akash programme when he was handpicked by India's 'missile man' and former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
He recalled the Indian military had hesitated in acquiring the system, which his colleagues and he had designed to intercept drones, missiles, helicopters, and even highly manoeuvrable aircraft like the United States-made supersonic F-16 fighter jets, which are among those Pak pilots fly.
The Akash system, working with India's integrated counter-unmanned aerial system grid, the Russian-made S-400, and other anti-aircraft weaponry, came together to create a shield that held firm.
READ | How Indian Defences Protected Nation, Shot Down Pak Missiles, Drones
And India, government sources said, had demonstrated it is 'capable not only of defending its skies... but it now controls them'.
What is Akash Missile Defence System
The Akash system is manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited in Hyderabad.
Essentially it is a short range, surface-to-air missile system offering protection from aerial threats. It can engage multiple targets at one time, either as a group or autonomously.
It has built-in electronic counter-counter measures and the entire system has been configured on mobile platforms, making it is highly manoeuvrable and potent addition to the military.
The Akash system can engage targets at altitude of up to 20km.
Each launcher carries three missiles - these work in a 'fire and forget' mode - and each missile is about 20 feet long and weighs 710kg. Each missile carries a 60kg warhead.
The system is also fully automatic and has real-time, multi-sensor data processing and threat evaluation capabilities, and works rapidly from acquiring, identifying, and neutralising targets.
The Akash system was exported to Armenia in a Rs 6,000-crore deal.
Dr Ramarao told NDTV his tagline for Akash is ' sara akash hamara ', or 'the whole sky is ours', and today his weapon system lived up to that reputation.