'Happiest day of my life...': Meet former DRDO scientist behind India's Akash missiles, Dr Prahlada Ramarao

When the Indian cities came under a threat from Pakistani drones and missiles on May 8 and 9, it was a missile system developed over 15 years ago that stood between danger and defence. The Akash surface-to-air missile system, India’s indigenous shield against aerial attacks, was at the forefront, intercepting and neutralising enemy threats with precision. And at the heart of this legacy stands Dr. Prahlada Ramarao, the former DRDO scientist who led its development.

“This is the happiest day of my life... to see the missile I helped build strike enemy aerial targets with such precision and elegance,” said Dr. Ramarao in a television interview, responding to Akash’s successful engagement of multiple targets. “It performed beyond expectations... effectively targeting incoming threats.”

Who is Dr Ramarao?

Chosen by India’s “Missile Man” and former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Ramarao was the youngest project director for the Akash program when it began. At the time, the Indian Army had reservations about the system.

“Initially, the Indian Army showed no interest in Akash,” he recalled in an interview. “But we designed it to intercept high-speed threats like drones, missiles, helicopters, and even supersonic F-16 fighter jets flown by Pakistani pilots.”

Today, the Akash system, developed by DRDO and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited, has become a cornerstone of India’s air defence. It is portable, highly agile, and lethal, with the advanced Akash-NG variant capable of hitting targets up to 80 km away at speeds of 2,500 km/h. It can engage 64 targets at once and fire 12 missiles simultaneously.

But Akash is just one chapter in Ramarao’s storied career. He has worked on almost all the types of missiles developed in India. Surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles, the Akash missile, Astra, and the BrahMos, Indo-Russian joint venture missile. He has worked on about 10 missile types.

With orders from the Army, Air Force, and Navy, these systems are now actively deployed. Global demand has followed suit, with countries like Armenia placing orders for Akash and the Pinaka rocket system.

According to Ramarao, India's missiles are seen as cost-effective, user-friendly, and performance-competitive, making them attractive to defence buyers worldwide.