Tuesday, June 21 2005 14:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Balasore: For the third time in five days, 'Akash', India's surface-to-air missile, was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 15 km from Balasore today (Jun 21, 2005), Defence sources said.

The multi-target missile with a striking range of 25 km, was test fired at around 1300 hrs (IST).

The missile was targetted at a para-barrel target to test its consistency, the sources said.

The sleek 5.6. meter long missile, which was test fired on Friday (Jun 17, 2005) last and yesterday (Jun 20, 2005), is one of the five missiles being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The missile, which is said to have better features than its US counterpart 'Patriot', has a launch weight of 700 kg and can carry a payload of 60 kg.

The trial was conducted to demonstrate its consistency during the entire flight for the Army and Air Force, which are likely to deploy the missile, the sources said.

The sophisticated missile, which uses an integral ramjet rocket propulsion system and has low reaction time, operates in conjunction with the indigenously built Rajendra Surveillance and Engagement Radar being developed by Electronic Research and Development Establishment (ERDE), Hyderabad.