Balasore: India successfully conducted five flight tests of the ‘Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile’ (BVRAAM) ‘Astra’ from Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter platform, here.
The trials, held between Monday and Thursday, were conducted by Indian Air Force (IAF), simulating all possible threat scenarios, an official statement said Thursday.
“The five trials conducted during this period tested missiles in different configurations. During the campaign, three missiles were launched in combat configuration, with warhead and manoeuvring targets being neutralised to establish the end game capability of the missile,” the statement said.
“The trial campaign also included a direct hit of the target by the telemetered missile at maximum range. All subsystems performed accurately, meeting all the mission parameters and objectives,” the statement added.
‘Astra BVRAAM’ has a strike range of more than 100 km with modern guidance and navigation techniques. The missile, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has midcourse guidance and radio frequency seeker-based terminal guidance to achieve target destruction with pinpoint accuracy, the statement informed.
“The effort for building a state-of-the-art BVRAAM by DRDO, together with IAF has completed the user trial phase of the weapon system successfully,” the statement said.
“The five successful trials of ‘Astra’ will culminate into induction of the missile system into Indian Air Force, which will certainly be a force multiplier considering its accuracy and effectiveness in neutralizing aerial threats,” the statement further informed..
G Satheesh Reddy, secretary, department of defence R&D and chairman, DRDO, congratulated team ‘Astra’ for developing and flight testing such a formidable class of weapon system.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has also congratulated the DRDO and IAF teams for the successful trials.
PTI