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 Combined Guided Weapon Firing Exercise
Context: Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa PVSM AVSM YSM VM ADC, Chief of the Air Staff arrived at Air Force Station Suryalankla on 07 Dec 18 on a two day visit to witness the combined guided weapons firing exercise of Surface to Air Missile.Â
About: This was a first of its kind Exercise undertaken by the Indian Air Force in which firing of four different class of missiles – AKASH, SPYDER, OSA-AK-M and IGLA was successfully carried out during day and night in an integrated networked environment.
AKASH:
- Akash (means sky in English) is a mid-range surface-to-air missile (SAM). It is medium range nuclear capable supersonic missile. It has been indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
- It is multi target, multi directional, all weather air-defence missile system consisting of surveillance and tracking radars for defending vulnerable areas against medium range air targets penetrating from low, medium and high altitudes. It has supersonic speeds ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5.
- It has capability to carry 55- kg fragmentation warhead that is triggered by proximity fuse. It can engage aerial targets up to range of approximately 25 kms. It can reach high altitude of 18 kms and as low as 30 meters.
Spyder:
- Spyder (Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby) is an acquired missile system from Israel which is a short-range, quick reaction surface-to-air missile.
- It comprises two missiles- Python and Derby, with an active onboard radar which makes the Spyder system more lethal. Both the missiles are smokeless which makes it harder to detect them visually.
- It can neutralise enemy targets up to a distance of 15 km and at heights between 20 and 9000 metres.
- Besides aircraft and UAVs, it can also neutralise low-level cruise missiles.
- It is an all-weather missile which has an automatic process of engaging an aggressive aircraft or missile.
- Spyder is shorter than India’s indigenously developed surface-to-air ‘Akash’ missile, which has a strike range of 25 km.
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Also see:
| Surface to Air Missile |
| Surface to Surface Missile |
| Air to Air Missile |
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