BHUBANESWAR: THE Indian Air Force (IAF), on Thursday, conducted an air exercise involving beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile Astra against actual target in full operational configuration over the Bay of Bengal paving the way for its early induction.
Defence sources said two rounds of the missile were fired from Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft targeting pilotless target aircraft (PTA) Banshee. The mission was termed successful considering the missed-distance calculation.
“The aircraft took off from Kalaikunda airbase and fired the missile at both low and medium altitudes targeting Banshee flown from Chandipur test range. The mission was conducted in a war-like scenario. Data collected during the test are being examined,” said an official.
People were taken aback by the sound generated during the exercise. It was so loud that glass window panes in some houses in Balasore rattled triggering speculations of a huge explosion. The sound was heard in areas coming under 10 km radius from the test range.
The test was, however, conducted to demonstrate the aerodynamic characteristic and killing ability of the missile. It has demonstrated the repeatability, robustness and endurance capability of Astra weapon system, said the official.
On the sound, he clarified that when a fighter aircraft travels from high altitude to low altitude at a supersonic speed it creates shockwave which resembles a huge explosion. So there is no need to panic, he added.
Indigenously designed and developed by DRDO, Astra possessed high Single Shot Kill Probability (SSKP) making it highly reliable. It is an all-weather missile with active radar terminal guidance, excellent electronic counter-counter measure (ECCM) features, smokeless propulsion and process improved effectiveness in multi-target scenario.
Not only Sukhoi-30 MKI, scientists have started integrating the weapon with homegrown Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. The air exercise will continue for some more days involving two other air-to-air missiles apart from Astra, sources informed.
Astra is designed for 80-km range in head-on mode and 20 km-range in tail-chase mode. The 3.8 metre long missile, which has launch weight of about 154 kg, uses solid-fuel propellant and a 15 kg high-explosive warhead, activated by a proximity fuse.
Fitted with a terminal active radar-seeker and an updated mid-course internal guidance system, the missile can locate and track targets. It is difficult to track this missile as its on-board electronic counter-measures jam signals from the enemy radars.