New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) India will achieve a major milestone in the development of indigenous military technology when Defence Minister A.K. Antony hands over the first batch of Akash surface-to-air missiles to the Indian Air Force in Hyderabad Saturday, ahead of its deployment in the northeast against possible Chinese threats.
Antony will also hand over TAL, an advanced indigenously developed lightweight torpedo, to the Indian Navy.
‘The defence minister will hand over Akash and TAL to the air force and the navy on Saturday in Hyderabad,’ a defence ministry official said here Thursday.
The two weapon systems that will greatly enhance the air force and navy’s strike capabilities, have been indigenously and manufactured by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Limited, a defence public sector undertaking.
Akash and TAL were developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
India plans to deploy two squadrons of the Akash missile in the northeastern region as a counter to threats from China.
