News Analysis India

Tag: Integrated Test Range

  • DRDO espionage case: One of 5 accused received money from Dubai account

    By Express News Service

    BHUBANESWAR: The Crime Branch of Police probing the espionage incident in the Integrated Test Range (ITR), a unit of DRDO on Tuesday claimed to have traced the money trail between the accused and the ISI operative.

    The investigating agency has taken five accused persons, including one permanent and four contractual employees of DRDO, on a seven-day remand for interrogation.

    Crime Branch ADG Sanjeeb Panda said one of the five arrested for allegedly spying in ITR had received Rs 38,000 in two instalLments from a bank account in Dubai.

    “We are now verifying if the Dubai account has any financial transaction with the bank accounts of other accused and whether they received money or gained other benefits through other means in exchange of defence information,” he said.

    The informers, Panda said, had initially established links through Facebook messenger before exchanging information frequently through WhatsApp.

    ALSO READ | Odisha Police arrest four DRDO employees for sharing defence secrets with ‘Pakistani agents’

    “All social media accounts of the accused persons are being verified. A preliminary investigation revealed a woman operative, who had established links with them through different names from different places in the country, used a UK number to exchange information. Efforts are on to find out more details about the conduit,” he informed.

    The investigating team is also tracing the call records of the accused to ascertain the information shared with the woman operative. The mobile phones seized from them will be sent for forensic analysis.

    Apart from the Crime Branch, a team of Indian Air Force officials is also interrogating the accused persons to find out the kind of information and photos and videos shared with the Pakistani agent. They are learnt to have passed the information on the launching complex, the test of different missiles from the ITR and the outcome of the tests.

    The Crime Branch ADG, however, clarified that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team is yet to interrogate the accused persons. A two-member NIA team had earlier visited the ITR and grilled a security officer.

    The Balasore police had earlier arrested contractual employees – Basanta Behera (52), Hemanta Kumar Mistri (52), Tapas Ranjan Nayak (41), Sk Musafir (32), all from Balasore and permanent employee Sachin Kumar Chatta of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly leaking defence secrets to Pakistani agents.

    Since Sachin, driver of a top defence scientist, hails from Meerut and Ishwar Behera arrested in a similar case six years ago had received money from an ISI handler in the Uttar Pradesh city, the probing agencies are trying to ascertain if there is any link between the two incidents.

  • New generation Akash missile successfully test-fired, target intercepted amid inclement weather

    Express News Service
    BHUBANESWAR: The New Generation Akash (Akash-NG) surface-to-air missile was successfully flight-tested from a defence facility off the Odisha coast amid inclement weather conditions on Friday proving the all-weather capability of the weapon system.

    The indigenously-developed missile system blasted off from a canisterised mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at about 11.45 am a few minutes after an unmanned aerial vehicle was flown. The missile searched, tracked, and successfully intercepted the high-speed unmanned aerial target.

    Defence sources said the flight test of Akash-NG has validated the functioning of a complete weapon system consisting of the missile with indigenously developed radio frequency seeker, launcher, multi-function radar, and command, control, and communication system.

    “The system performance was validated through the data captured by a number of radars, telemetry, and electro-optical tracking systems deployed by ITR. It demonstrated the high maneuverability required for neutralising fast and agile aerial threats. A team of Indian Air Force officers witnessed the test,” the sources said.

    This was the second successful flight testing of Akash NG in a span of three days. Earlier on July 21, the missile was successfully flight-tested without the seeker meeting all the mission requirements. Three more rounds have been planned.

    ALSO READ | Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics bags Rs 499-crore deal to supply missiles to Indian Air Force

    Designed and developed by DRDO, the Akash-NG system has been equipped with active electronically scanned array multi-function radar to search, track and fire control in one platform. It is capable of intercepting high manoeuvring low radar cross-section aerial targets.

    While the earlier variant of Akash had a maximum strike range of 30 km, the new generation Akash has an operational range of 70 km and can defend an area 10 times better compared to any short-range surface-to-air missile and is capable of engaging up to 10 targets simultaneously.

    Unlike its earlier version, Akash-NG uses a two-pulse solid rocket motor that gives it a longer range and the ability to generate a high terminal velocity.

    Akash is India’s first indigenously designed, developed, and produced air defence system and the cheapest surface-to-air missile ever produced in the world with supersonic interception speed.

    DRDO chairman G Satheesh Reddy said the performance of the entire weapon system was flawless and the mission was a copybook success. The missile will be deployed after a few more developmental tests, he added.

    Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, the Indian Air Force, and Industry. He said the development of the state-of-the-art missile system will prove to be a force multiplier for the air defence capabilities of the Indian Air Force.