''Akashteer'' () is an Indian Air Defence Control & Reporting System developed by

Bharat Electronics Limited Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector aerospace and Military, defence Electronics, electronics company, headquartered in Bangalore. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products ...

equipping the units of

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

's Corps of Army Air Defence with a tactical command and control system, therefore improving their capabilities. This technology allows for monitoring of low level airspace in battle areas and efficient control of Ground Based Air Defence Weapon Systems. Akashteer is in the same category of weaponry as the Israeli

Iron Dome Iron Dome () is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired f ...

and

Barak Barak ( or ; ; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, the prophet and fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israe ...

, Chinese

HQ-9 The HQ-9 ( zh, s=红旗-9, t=紅旗-9, p=Hóng Qí-9, l=Red Banner-9; NATO reporting name: CH-SA-9.) is a long-range semi-active radar homing (SARH) surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed by the People's Republic of China. The naval variant is ...

and American

Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System The United States Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...

Battle Command System (IBCS) is a plug and fight, plug-and-fight network intended to let a radar or any other defensive sensor feed its data to any available weapon—colloquially, ...

systems. The Akashteer system is integrated with the Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

to increase jointness of the Armed Forces for air defence. This brings the sensors of the Army through Akashteer and the Air Force sensors and civilian radars through the IACCS under the Joint Air Defence Centre (JADC) level. Post integration, IAF will be in charge of the JADC. As of January 2025, integration for one site is complete while that for other sites in underway.

History

On 29 March 2023, the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

further strengthened the concept of '' atmanirbharta'' (self-reliance) in the defence sector by entering into a contract with

(BEL),

Ghaziabad Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in Western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziaba ...

. This contract valued at is known as 'Project Akashteer', which strives to provide situational awareness and control for the military to guarantee the safety of allied aircraft and confront enemy aircraft in challenging airspace. By 30 September 2024, BEL delivered the entire 100 units of Akashteer system to the Indian Army. As of November 2024, 107 units were delivered with another 105 units planned by March 2025. The Army will receive the entire order for 455 units by April 2027. In November 2024, it was reported that the Indian Army conducted validation trials of Akashteer simulating scenarios as expected in future wars.

Functions

The Akashteer system integrates the entire surveillance assets, radar systems, communication nodes and other command and control units of the Indian Army's Air Defence networks into a single network to enhance the situational awareness. The system is vehicle-based which makes it mobile and easier to handle in hostile environment. The system automates the entire air defence mechanism enhancing the response mechanism to any threats. It is anticipated that this integration will reduce the possibility of friendly fire, enabling quick engagement of hostile targets, and guarantee friendly aircraft safety in contested airspace. The sensors integrated include 3D Tactical Radars, Low-Level Lightweight Radars, and the Akash Weapon System. This would ensure a seamless and unified air picture accessible to the lowest operational units of the Army Air Defence (AD), which enhances coordination and situational awareness across the force. Akashteer increases automation and efficiency by eliminating human inputs and decentralising.

Service history

The Akashteer system was a part of India's Air Defence Network during

Operation Sindoor Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

where the system effectively foiled multiple of Pakistan's drone and missile attacks. It was reported that it "struck down every drone with a 100% kill rate".

Operators

* - 107 in service. Total 455 on order.

References

{{Reflist Air defense Anti-aircraft warfare Army air defence

History

Functions

Service history

Operators

See also

References