India’s First Air-To-Air Astra Missile Successfully Test-Fired Off Odisha Coast

Bhubaneswar: Air-to-air missile Astra (weapon) was successfully test-fired from Su-30 MKI fighter jet, off the Odisha coast on Tuesday.

Leaving behind a pulse of purple flame, the Astra careened off into the invisible horizon from the wing of the fighter jet. The missile successfully engaged a live aerial target with high precision meeting the mission objectives. Various Radars, Electro-Optical Tracking System (EOTS) and Sensors tracked the missile and confirmed its engagement with target, sources said.

Astra is the first indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM). It is the best in class weapon system and has undergone more than twenty developmental trials.

It features mid-course inertial guidance with terminal active radar homing.

Astra has been integrated with Indian Air Force’s Sukhoi Su-30MKI and will be integrated with Dassault Mirage 2000 and Mikoyan MiG-29 in the future. Limited series production of the missile began in 2017, the sources added.