The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has tested a new version of Akash Missile called ‘Akash Prime’ on September 27, 2021.

• It was launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) of Chandipur, Odisha,
• Missile intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial target mimicking an enemy aircraft during its maiden flight test after improvements.
• Akash Prime missile has been equipped with an indigenous active RF (radio frequency) seeker for improving its accuracy.
• Other improvements have also been made in order to bring in more reliable performance under low temperature environments at higher altitudes.
• For the flight test, modified ground system of the existing Akash weapon was used.
• Range stations of the ITR comprises of Radars, EOTS (Electro Optical Tracking System) and Telemetry stations. It helped in monitoring the missile trajectory and flight parameters.