New Delhi [India], October 1 (ANI): In a significant development, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has said the indigenous Akash air defence system has been successfully exported to three countries, including Armenia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. "The first customer was Armenia, which has taken multiple batteries. Thereafter, we've also exported it to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Production has stabilised. We have additional orders for our own services, and I'm sure there will be many more from various parts of the world, including some of the areas that you mentioned,' Singh told ANI in an exclusive interaction.

The Defence Secretary praised the indigenous Akash Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system as a key milestone in India's journey toward self-reliance in military technology.

Speaking on India's defence export trajectory, Singh noted that the Akash system has transitioned into a stabilised production phase, backed by strong domestic orders alongside an expanding footprint across international defence markets.

'Akash, I would say that it is one of our success stories. It shows the maturing of our indigenous missile design and production system. It is effective in dealing with high-velocity aerial targets,' said the Defence Secretary.

Production for the Akash missile system has stabilised, with active procurement continuing for the Indian Armed Forces while orders from foreign nations continue to grow.

Akash is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by DRDO and manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) / Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). It is designed to engage supersonic targets at ranges up to 25-30 km (and up to 50 km for newer variants like Akash-NG), utilising ramjet propulsion and command guidance. 

Earlier in September, Defence Secretary Rajesh Singh described cost advantage as among India's USPs in defence exports, emphasising that the ministry expects exports to reach Rs 50,000 crore in the next two years.

Answering a question on defence exports at the 13th PAFI Annual Forum 2026 Panel Discussion on Building India's Competitive Advantage, Singh highlighted BrahMos as among the most well-known export products. (ANI)