NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Sunday flagged off the indigenously developed and manufactured Astra Missiles for supply to the Indian Air Force.
The event was held at Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Kanchanbagh Unit where BDL chairman and managing director Commodore A Madhavarao (Retd) and other senior officials from DRDO, IAF and BDL participated, a release from the BDL said.
Astra is a Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missile indigenously developed by DRDO and manufactured by BDL for IAF, it said.
“Astra Weapon System is best in its class of weapon systems in the world in the category of air-to-air missiles. The missile has a range of 100-plus km,” the release said.
The flag-off marks a significant achievement for BDL, positioning it among a select few companies globally with the capability to manufacture stateof- the-art air-to-air missiles.
Meanwhile, the 76th Indian Army Day kicked off in Lucknow on Sunday with a grand Army Symphony band concert held at Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Park.
“The concert was attended by over 7,500 people, including senior dignitaries, veterans, armed forces personnel and citizens of Lucknow,” the Army said.
A musical extravaganza was organised, with martial and patriotic tunes by the Army Symphony band comprising over 120 personnel. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande and GOCin- C Central Command, Lieutenant General Raja Subramani participated in the event.
This is the first time that an Army Symphony band concert was held as part of Army Day celebrations. The event was open to the public. Rajnath applauded the Army for the concert.
Earlier, the Army Day 2024 celebrations kicked off with the traditional welcome ceremony at the Army Commander’s residence in Lucknow Cantonment. Singh, UP Governor Anandiben Patel, CM Yogi Adityanath, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Army chief General Manoj Pande were present.