DRDO hands over authority holding sealed details of Akash to MSQAA

Hyderabad: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over the Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) of Akash Weapon System (army version) to the Missile Systems Quality Assurance Agency (MSQAA) here on Saturday.

A release said the handing over was held at Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) which, is a nodal agency that has designed and developed the Akash weapon system. The Technical Specification & Quality Document and the drawing of complete weapon system elements were sealed and handed over by Project Akash to MSQAA as part of AHSP transfer.

Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat congratulated the Project Akash team for the first AHSP transfer from Missile cluster to MSQAA for such a complex system involving missile and multiple ground systems. He said the transfer process will enable the roadmap for future missile systems, which are under production.

Akash is the first state-of-the-art indigenous surface-to-air missile system that has been with armed forces for nearly a decade defending the Indian skies and providing national security. It is inducted by the Army and IAF with an order value worth Rs 30,000 crore, which is one of the largest single-system orders for an indigenous missile system

Apart from DRDL, a number of other DRDO labs are involved in the development of the system. These include Research Centre Imarat; Electronics & Radar Development Establishment; Research & Development Establishment (Engineers); Integrated Test Range; Armament Research & Development Establishment; High Energy Materials Research Laboratory and Vehicles Research Development Establishment, said a senior officer.