India successfully Tests Its Astra Missile

NEW DELHI - April 25, 2015 - PRLog -- According to an item published in the latest issue of Indian Military Review India’s Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile Astra was once again successfully test fired, on 19 March, by the Indian Air Force (IAF) off the coast of Odisha near the Integrated Test Range, Balasore. The missile has been indigenously designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In the test-flight an Astra missile carrying telemetry equipment in place of the warhead was fired from a Sukhoi-30 aircraft against a Lakshya Pilotless Target Aircraft target. The target was successfully engaged and it was captured by telemetry and electro-optical tracking stations.

Giving details, the new issue of Indian Military Review, published from here says, that the successful trial of Astra, conducted a day earlier on 18 March, was also carried out from a Sukhoi 30 aircraft, which was aimed at confirming missile’s capability to undergo manoeuvre involving very high gravitational forces up to the order of 30g. These fourth and fifth launch campaigns were coordinated by Air Headquarters including the flight of Lakshya target.

The anti-aircraft missile’s high-g manoeuvrability from a lower altitude of one km was one of the critical performance criteria and it was proved in the flight test.

The Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad of the Missile Complex is the primary development agency for the missile.

The all-weather, state-of-the-art missile developed by DRDO can engage and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speed. The 3.8 metre long Astra is the smallest of the DRDO-developed missiles and can be launched from different altitudes. It can reach up to 110 km when fired from an altitude of 15 km, 44 km when launched from an altitude of eight km and 21 km when fired from sea level.

The missile possessing high Single-Shot Kill Probability (SSKP) has electronic counter-counter measures (ECCM) features and smokeless propulsion. It can be launched from different altitudes and has the capability to reach up to 110 km when fired from an altitude of 15 km, 44 km when launched from an altitude of eight km and 21 km when fired from sea level.

DRDO is already working on a Mk-2 variant of the Astra missile with grater range. Astra is to initially have a 44-km range with "high single-shot kill probability", while its Mark-II version will be able to hit enemy aircraft over 100 km away.

DRDO is confident it will be able to meet the revised project completion date of December 2016.