The much desired, home-grown and productionised Akash surface-to-air missile (SAM) weapon system was handed to the Army’s Air Defence (AAD) Corps on Tuesday by the chairman and managing director of Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), V Uday Bhaskar. Indigenous content of the SAM – with range of 18-20 kms – was stated to be 96 per cent. The 27 Air Defence Regiment will be handling the system.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Dalbir Singh was present on the occasion. He pointed out: “Threats have increased in region. The times are challenging.” The conventional threats have gone beyond aircrafts and helicopters, and state-of-the-art Akash SAM system will help to tackle those threats from unmanned aerial systems, he hinted. Two regiments of the AAD Corps will be equipped with Akash.
Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Director General of Missile Support System, VG Shekharan said that this was the largest, indigenous weapon system ever inducted in the Army. The ceremony was held at the Army’s showpiece convention centre named after its first Field Marshal SAM Manekshaw, the assembly was of the Army’s AAD officers. As they applauded the COAS after his address, Gen Singh ended up with a curious comment. He talked about how Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told another audience of Army officials that “soldiers don’t clap”.
For, the Army, along with its weaponry and primness, needs morale boosters that have to be emphasised on various occasions. The soldierly attribute, which Singh referred to, can be another element in building morale and character of the service he leads.