The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) handed over the Authority for Sealed Data (AHSP) of the Akash weapon system (Indian Army version) to the Missile Systems Quality Assurance Agency (MSQAA) in Hyderabad on 3 December 2022. The handover took place at the Defense Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), which as the nodal agency designed and developed the Akash weapon system.
The technical specification and quality document and drawing of the complete weapon system elements were sealed and handed over by Project Akash to MSQAA as part of the AHSP transfer. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, Indian Army and industry and termed the AHSP move as a landmark event. He exuded confidence that this would lead to the fulfillment of service requirements. Secretary, Ministry of Defense Research and Development and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat congratulated the Project Akash team for the first move of AHSP from the Missile Group to MSQAA for such a complex system involving missile and multiple land based systems. He said the transfer process will enable a plan for future missile systems that are in production.
Akash is the first state-of-the-art indigenous surface-to-air missile system that has been defending Indian skies and ensuring national security for the armed forces for nearly a decade. It is listed by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force with an order value of Rs 30,000 crore, one of the largest single system orders for an indigenous missile system. Apart from DRDL, a number of other DRDO laboratories are involved in the development of the system. These include Research Center Imarat; Development of electronics and radars; Research and development facilities (engineers); Integrated test range; Armament research and development establishment; High-energy materials research laboratory and vehicle research development facility. The systems are manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Electronics Corporation of India Limited, BEML Limited along with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and other industry partners.
