Akash missile sale cleared, govt to approach China-wary nations

Focus will be on high-value defence platforms to achieve target of $5-billion annual exports

The Union Cabinet has approved exporting the indigenous Akash air defence missile, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on Wednesday, without divulging which countries had been cleared to receive the missile.

Business Standard learns the government is pursuing sales to south east Asian countries that are wary of Chinese aggression, including Vietnam and the Philippines. In addition, the government is addressing interest from several African countries.

The Akash is a surface-to-air missile system that can detect and track enemy aircraft at long ranges and shoot down within a radius of 25 kilometres. It was inducted in 2014 in the Indian Air Force