India Set Another Milestone – ASTRA

India on Saturday successfully test fired the Astra, which is an active radar homing Beyond Visual Range Air-To-Air Missile (BVRAAM), from the integrated test range (ITR) at Chandipur in Orissa.

Chandipur (Orissa), Sept 13 : India on Saturday successfully test fired the ‘Astra’, which is an active radar homing Beyond Visual Range Air-To-Air Missile (BVRAAM), from the integrated test range (ITR) at Chandipur in Orissa.

The ‘Astra’ missile was test-fired from a launcher in the launch pad number 2 of the ITR complex at about 12:05 p.m., defence sources said.

“Before being made fully operational, the complex missile system would undergo some more trials, though test on its navigation, control, air frame, propulsion and other sub-system have been validated,” said a source from the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at ITR.

A so-called Beyond Visual Range missile is being developed by DRDO. This is the first air-to-air missile developed by India. If developed successfully, India would join a group of countries that are US, France, Israel, Japan, Russia, South Africa and China.

The range of Astra is 80 km in head-on chase and 15 km in tail chase. The missile’s onboard radio-frequency seeker has been designed in India. It will have an active homing range of 15 km.

The missile has a pre-fragmented warhead and is fitted with a proximity fuze. A radar fuze already exists for the Astra, but the DRDO is currently working on a new laser fuze.

ANI
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Astra (Sanskrit: अस्त्रा, Astrā “Weapon”) is an active radar homing Beyond visual range air to air missile (BVRAAM) or a so called Beyond Visual Range missile being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India. This is the first air-to-air missile developed by India and this advanced missile, enable fighter pilots to lock-on and shoot down enemy aircraft 90-120 km away.

Specification

Manufacturer                               DRDO
Produced                                     May 9, 2003

Weight 154 kg
Length 3570 mm
Diameter 178 mm
Warhead                                     15 kg (33 lb) HE fragmentation directional warhead
Detonation mechanism              Radar proximity fuze
Engine                                        Solid Fuel Rocket
Wingspan                                   254 mm
Operational range                      80 km head on, 15 km tail chase

90-110 km (15000 m)
44 km (9000 m)
30 km (sea level)
Flight ceiling                              66,000 ft
Speed                                         Mach 4 +
Guidance system                        Inertial, mid-course update and terminal active radar (15 km)
Launch platform                         Su-30MKI, HAL Tejas, Mirage 2000 and Mig-29.

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