DRDO, IAF successfully test fire indigenous Astra beyond visual range missile

New Delhi: India on Friday carried out two successful back-to-back firings of indigenous Astra beyond visual range missiles with a home-made radio-frequency seeker, hitting the targets with “pin-point accuracy”.

The successful flight tests from the Indian Air Force’s Su-30 MKI combat jets re-established the accuracy and reliable performance of Astra weapon system, the Defence Ministry said.

With a range of more than 100 km, India looks at Astra as the preferred weapon for existing platforms like Su-30MKI as well as future indigenous combat jets.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation and IAF successfully conducted the flight-tests of Astra fitted with the DRDO-made RF seeker to zero-in on the targets from Su-30 Mk-I off the coast of Odisha on Friday.

“During the tests, two launches were carried out against high-speed unmanned aerial targets at different ranges, target aspects and launch platform conditions. In both the cases, the missiles destroyed the targets with pin-point accuracy,” the ministry said.

All the subsystems performed as per expectations and the missile’s performance was validated through flight data captured by range tracking instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the successful testing of the missile with indigenous seeker was a major milestone in critical defence technology.

An air to air missile with BVR capability provides large stand off ranges to the IAF fighter jets which can neutralise the adversary aircraft without exposing itself to adversary air defence measures, thereby gaining and sustaining superiority of the air space.

Nearly three years ago, the defence ministry signed a Rs 2,971 crore contract with Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad for the supply of an unspecified number of Astra Mk-1 missiles and launchers to the IAF and Indian Navy.

DRDO scientists have been working on an upgraded version of the missile with an extended range of 140 km. The trials for Astra-2 were likely to be completed by 2026, sources said.