DRC recently acquired the AKash NG multifunction radar system (MFR) from the Indian company Bharat Electronics Limited
The Democratic Republic of Congo has established a partnership with the Indian company BEL.
The Akash NG is a very advanced air defense radar system, capable of shooting down all enemy flying objects at high altitude.
The Akash (sky) is an all-weather medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
The Akash (sky) is an all-weather medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
The Akash (sky) is an all-weather medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in India. It provides multidirectional and multitarget area defence.
The missile system was indigenously developed as part of the integrated guided-missile development programme (IGMDP) to replace the Russian 2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) missile system.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India developed and integrated the Akash SAM, in partnership with public and private companies.
The Akash SAM system – including the associated radars, missile and systems – took 20 years to develop, with an investment of $120m.
Other countries that have developed multitarget handling surface-to-air missile systems are the US, some EU countries, Russia, Israel and Japan.
DRDO is currently developing the Akash-NG (New Generation), an enhanced version of Akash SAM. A successful flight test of the Akash-NG missile was conducted at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha in January 2024.
The missile intercepted and destroyed a high-speed, low-altitude unmanned aerial target during the test flight. The successful completion of the flight test has laid the groundwork for subsequent user trials.
Akash SAM system features
The Akash missile is 5.8m long, has a diameter of 350mm and a wingspan of 1,105mm. It has a launch weight of 720kg.
The missile can fly at a speed of up to Mach 2.5 and has a height ceiling of 18km. The 60kg payload can use prefabricated tungsten alloy cube warheads or a nuclear warhead.
The Akash SAM system consists of an integral ramjet propulsion, a switchable guidance antenna system, a command guidance unit, an onboard power supply, a system arming and detonation mechanism, digital autopilot, radars and C4I centres.
The most important element of the Akash SAM system battery is its high-power, multi-function Rajendra phased array radar.
The 3D passive electronically scanned array Rajendra radar (PESA) can electronically scan and guide the missile towards targets. It provides information on the range, azimuth and height of a flying target.
Akash SAM development timeline and tests
Development of the Akash missile system began in the 1980s, involving the work of 300 public and private companies.
In operation from 1983 to 2007, the programme developed a range of missiles, including the Nag, Agni and Trishul missiles and the Prithvi ballistic missile.
The flight tests were initiated in 1990 and the development flights continued till 1997. Several user trials of the missile system were conducted and its ballistic missile role was proven successful.
In 2008, the Indian Air Force (IAF) introduced its indigenous SAM system after nine successful field trials. Some modifications to the Akash SAM, such as the launch platform, were made to the army version to meet mobility and gradeability requirements.
Akash missile launch details
The Akash missile can be launched from static or mobile platforms, such as battle tanks, providing flexible deployment. The SAM can handle multitarget and destroy manoeuvring targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), fighter aircraft, cruise missiles and missiles launched from helicopters.
The Akash SAM system defends vulnerable areas in all weather conditions against medium-range air targets from being attacked from low, medium and high altitudes.
It can operate autonomously and engage and neutralise different aerial targets simultaneously. The kill probability of the Akash is 88% for the first and 99% for the second missile on a target.
The Akash SAM is claimed to be more economical and accurate than the MIM-104 Patriot, operated by several nations including the US, due to its solid-fuel technology. The Akash can intercept from a range of 30km and provide air defence missile coverage of 2,000km².
Rajendra radars and PESA antenna array
The Akash battery has four Rajendra radars and four launchers interlinked together and controlled by the group control centre. Each launcher, equipped with three missiles, is controlled by one radar that can track 16 targets.
The Rajendra radar can track 64 targets and simultaneously guide 12 Akash missiles. The PESA antenna array has a swivel of 360° on a rotating platform. The Rajendra radar can detect up to a radius of 80km and engage at a range of 60km at an altitude of 8km.
The communication links, command and control nodes, sensors and self-propelled launchers of the entire Akash SAM system are IT-integrated. The weapons system uses radar vehicles and T-72 tank chassis for launchers.
Detonation sequence and mechanism
The prefragmented warhead of the Akash missile is coupled with a digital proximity fuse. The detonation sequence is controlled by safety arming and a detonation mechanism. The missile is also integrated with a self-destructive device. Unlike the Patriot missile, Akash uses a ramjet propulsion system which gives it thrust to intercept the target at supersonic speed without any speed deceleration.
The terminal guidance system of the missile enables its working through electronic countermeasures.
The Rajendra radar alone guides the Akash missile, which increases its efficacy against electronic jamming of aircraft.
Akash-NG (new generation) missile
Akash-NG is an advanced missile system capable of neutralising high-velocity, agile aerial threats.
In July 2021, the Akash-NG missile was successfully tested in a flight test conducted in Chandipur. The missile successfully intercepted a high-speed unmanned aerial target.
The flight test validated the performance of the entire weapon system, comprising a domestically developed radio frequency (RF) seeker-equipped missile, launcher, multi-function radar, and command, control, and communication system.
In August 2023, Bharat Dynamics provided the first radio RF seeker for the Akash-NG weapon system. The seeker is crucial for SAMs and air-to-air missiles as it tracks targets during the final phase with advanced technology.
Contractors and partnerships for Akash (sky) SAM development project
Several defence research and development organisations’ labs were involved in the development of the missile including the Defence Research & Development Laboratory, the Research & Development Establishment, the Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment, the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory and the Armament Research & Development Establishment.
The Rajendra or Battery Level Radar-III was developed by the Electronics & Radar Development Establishment and manufactured at Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
The contractors for Akash SAM system production are BEL for radar and electronic support systems; Tata Power and Larsen & Toubro for the launcher systems; Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for missile systems. BDL is also the system integrator and nodal agency for Akash SAM production for the army.
Orders and deliveries
In June 2010, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of India allocated Rs125bn ($2.8bn) for the army version Akash missile system for induction into the Indian Army.
In March 2023, India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) finalised contracts to procure an upgraded Akash weapon system and 12 weapon locating
radars from WLR (Swathi-Plains) for the Indian Army, totalling more than Rs91bn.
The top miltary leaders of the countries involved in the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) which are Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda, met in Kigali, and assessed together the status of military cooperation.
This two-day meeting, which started on Thursday, September 5, 2024, is being held in Kigali, where the participants will see together what has been achieved in the projects agreed by these member countries.
Among the projects agreed by these three countries that should be examined in this meeting, include cooperation in preventing, dealing with and resolving riots and conflicts, preventing genocide, fighting terrorism, fighting and fighting against theft, cooperation in peace efforts, disaster risk reduction.
These countries have also agreed on other projects including how to handle military forces in times of conflict, tracking and combating the illegal proliferation of small and large arms, dealing with cross-border crimes, collecting and sharing information in espionage for the purpose of combating wrongdoing is done.
On behalf of the Minister of Defence, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Brig Gen Celestin Kanyamahanga; He said that this meeting aims to examine together the challenges and to look together at the achievements in the implementation of the decisions that have been taken.
He also took the opportunity to ask the participants of the meeting, to invite experts to show what should be done, in order to find a common solution to the current problems, in the interests of the member countries.
The participants of the meeting emphasized that cooperation in military activities is necessary, especially in joint military exercises, in the sharing of intelligence information, in research and development in the field of the military.
71 km long, the border boundary zone concerned by this project runs from Mount Sabinyo to Bwindi, on the boundary between Bwindi National Park (Uganda) and the Sarambwe Nature Reserve (DRC), passing through the DRC-Uganda-Rwanda tripoint. These regions are located in eastern Rutshuru territory and southwestern Uganda.
To date, only 16 markers mark the limits between the two countries, leaving room for the persistence of border conflicts. Hence the need to define concrete actions, according to Vangu Mabyala, expert from the Congolese Ministry of the Interior.
“The purpose of this meeting is to develop the budget for the border demarcation work to reveal, on the ground, the demarcation line,” he said.
Colonel Naboth Mwesigwa, head of the delegation of Ugandan experts, who does not recognize the multiple boundary conflicts between the two countries, affirms that this demarcation operation is rather preventive:
“There is no conflict and we have never been at war with the DRC but we are here to reassure ourselves that if there are some cross-border disagreements, that this is addressed for the benefit of both countries” .
More than 765 km of borders separate Uganda and the DRC, from Ituri to the east of the Rutshuru territory in North Kivu. Most of the border line affected by the current demarcation project is located in the east of the area currently occupied by the M23 rebellion supported by Rwanda.
1. Gaston Iyamuremye
Age: 76 years old
Interim President, former major in the Ex-FAR, born in 1948 in Ruhengeri.
2. Ntawunguka Pacific (Omega):
Age: 60 years old
Military leader of the FDLR (FOCA), born in 1964 in Gisenyi, he studied at the Military Academy and was battalion commander during the genocide.
3. Gakwerere Ezekiel:
Age: 60 years old
Secretary General, born in 1964 in Kibungo, implicated in atrocities during the genocide.
4. Hakizimana Apollinaire:
Age: 60 years old
Military commissioner, born in 1964 in Gisenyi, former head of intelligence of ALiR, sanctioned by the international community.
5. Sébastien Uwimbabazi:
Age: 56 years old
Head of military intelligence, born in 1968 in Kibuye, former gendarme who fled to Nyanza during the Rwandan genocide
Violent fighting has been reported since the early hours of Tuesday, September 3, 2024, between M23 rebels and Wazalendo militiamen, in the locality of Bibwe, village of Machumbi, near Nyange, Bashali Mokoto group, territory of Masisi, in the North -Kivu.
According to Twizere Havugimana, a youth leader in the region, the M23 rebels attacked the Wazalendo positions, erected a few meters from Machumbi, at 5 a.m., once again causing the displacement of certain inhabitants of this part of Bashali.
This official specifies that at the time of writing this article, hostilities continue in these entities where the Wazalendo are resisting the enemy, although the population has fled the area.
Furthermore, a temporary lull is reported in the Ufamandu I grouping, after the violent clashes between these belligerents throughout the day of Monday, September 2, 2024, in the villages of Kachai, Ngololo, Dépôt and Mayuwano, disrupting school activities in this part of the Bahunde chiefdom.
According to local civil society, no weapons fire has been reported in this area since these attacks carried out by the VDP against the M23 rebels.
Mikairi Excellent, an actor in this citizen structure, specifies that despite this lull, there is no sign of a resumption of classes in these villages, not only because of the recent clashes, but also because of the presence of M23 elements in this group. .
There is a bit of a lull in the areas attacked yesterday by the Wazalendo. These young people have further withdrawn from these areas under enemy control, but the inhabitants remain in their areas of refuge, because it is still dangerous for the population to return there.
It should be noted that it is difficult to establish an assessment on all the front lines in the chiefdoms of Bashali and Bahunde, because the M23 rebels continue to destabilize the population
FARDC/UPDF coalition destroyed one of the ADF strongholds east of Makumu and Biakato during patrols on September 1 and 2. Provisional results: 3 terrorists killed, 2 computers, 1 grenade and 1 Aka 47 weapon recovered. These computers were connected to ISCAP/EI networks
The 4-day training, organised by the UK Mission Support Team (UKMST) in collaboration with ATMIS, was opened today in Mogadishu by ATMIS Deputy Force Commander in charge of Operations and Plans Maj. Gen. Marius Ngendabanka.
In attendance were Colonel Lutangu Sitali, the ATMIS Chief CIMIC Officer, and Colonel Shove Gilby, Commander of UK Forces in Somalia.
Sporadic gunfire was still heard and a reinforced police presence was visible in the morning at hot spots in the city.
This is particularly in the Majengo, Mabanga and Kasika districts, where barricades made of stones were placed on the main arteries by spontaneous demonstrators.
These demonstrations, which began on Saturday evening in the north of the city, spread during the morning of Monday in the western part, notably towards the Ndosho, Katoyi, Kyeshero and Mugunga districts.
Consequence: many shops remained closed in these areas, while everything was slowing down in the city center. Some schools operated timidly, with several parents preferring to keep their children at home on this back-to-school day.
A group of citizen movement activists circulated messages, particularly on social networks, calling for a ghost town day this Monday, September 2.
Through this appeal, they intended to challenge the increase in crime in the city and the rotation of the Kenyan contingent within MONUSCO. This rotation is taking place, despite the update of August 29, 2024 from the Congolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs specifying that Kenyan troops are deployed in response to the request made in 2019 by the Government of DRC.
