are mobile and field-worthy. Their design is based on the role and task to be performed and the vehicles are accordingly allocated to the Group HQ, the Batteries, Assembly Line Area and the Field maintenance workshop. Some of the vehicles are: the Missile Transportation Vehicle (MTV), the Transportation and Loading Vehicle (TLV), the Mobile Station for Missile Checkout (MSMC) Vehicle, the Air Compressor Vehicle (ACV), the Power Supply vehicles (GPSV, BPSV), the Engineering Support, Maintenance and Repair vehicles (GEM, BEM) and a few others. These specialist vehicles assemble and prepare missiles, deliver them to Batteries, carry maintenance spares and fuel, and provide logistical engineering support. Their allocation provides for flexibility and self-sufficiency to the whole Akash Group. Development and history Mark-I The first test flight of Akash missile was conducted in 1990, with development flights up to March 1997. Two Akash missiles intercepted two fast moving targets in simultaneous engagement mode in 2005. 3-D Central Acquisition Radar (3D-CAR) group mode performance is also fully established. The Akash Missile Development cost of ₹1,000 crore (€150 million; $200 million), including the project sanction of ₹600 crore (€90 million; $120 million), is 8-10 times lower than the cost of similar system developments in other countries. Akash has certain unique characteristics like mobility, all-the-way-powered flight till target interception, multiple target handling, digitally-coded command guidance and fully automatic operation. Variants Akash-1S There was demand from Indian Armed Forces for a missile with a seeker that can target inbound targets more accurately for which the DRDO offered an upgraded Akash with an indigenous seeker named Akash-1S. DRDO tested Akash-1S on 25 May and 27 May 2019 with a strike range of 30 km that has the capability to carry warhead of 60 kg from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha with the overall performance of indigenous seeker and guidance system consistently established during the period. Akash-1S was fired five times against multiple targets and successfully completed the trials. It supports the combination of both command and active terminal seeker guidance to enhance the single shot kill probability and is capable of striking down fighter jets and drones at a distance of around 18 to 30 km that can be fired from both tracked and wheeled platforms for greater mobility. Akash Prime On 27 September 2021, DRDO test fired a new version of missile called Akash Prime. It intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial target mimicking enemy