INDIA CONSOLIDATES ITS ADS TO FORTIFY THE LADAKH SECTOR

The Indian Army Air Defence Corps and DRDO have tested Akash Prime, an upgraded variant of Akash Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) in Ladakh, where the threat of a potential border conflict with China looms large. Optimised for high-altitude operations and designed to shoot down fast-moving aerial threats with absolute precision, the medium-range AD Akash Prime boasts a capability unmatched by any other system developed by India. A SPECIAL REPORT

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With its mobility, precision, and range, Akash Prime is primed to plug a crucial gap in India’s layered air defence and deny air superiority to China in the event of a military showdown.

India’s recent military showdown with Pakistan proved to be a vindication of its investment in an unenviable, layered air defence network that operated with impeccable precision. The conflict might be over, but the security threat lingers—not just in the Kashmir valley but also in the high peaks of Ladakh, where the border dispute with China persists.

Even as India revels in the success achieved against the adversary in the west, there is hardly any time for it to rest on its laurels, especially because the real elephant in the room is China. The majority of drones or long-range missiles that Pakistan launched on India in retaliation for "Operation Sindoor" were acquired from Beijing, giving us a somewhat of an assessment of what combat with China would look like—only that it would be much bigger in scale and much more sophisticated in terms of weaponry.

On July 16, India achieved a key breakthrough in defending its airspace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by testing the Akash Prime Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) System in the high-altitude region of Eastern Ladakh.

The Indian Army Air Defence Corps and DRDO together tested the Akash Prime SAM at about 15,000 feet in Ladakh. The missile achieved two direct kills against high-speed unmanned aerial targets, demonstrating unparalleled precision and reliability. Thus, paving the way for the induction of this upgraded variant into service and its deployment along the contentious border.