rkjindal91
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Astra successfully test-fired for second
day May 21, 2011, 11.30am IST PTI BALASORE: For the second day in a row,
India conducted a successful ballistic
flight test of indigenously developed
Astra - Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air
Missile - from the Integrated Test Range
at Chandipur on Saturday. "The missile was test-fired around 1032
hrs and the trial was successful," Defence
Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) sources said. The missile is envisaged to intercept and
destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic
speeds in the head-on mode at a range of
80 km and in tail-chase mode at 20 km. "Before the sophisticated anti air-craft
missile would be integrated with fighter
aircraft like Su-30 MKI, MiG-29 and Light
Combat Aircraft Tejas, it would undergo
some rigorous and flawless tests both
from ground and fighter jets," said a scientist associated with the project. Astra, which uses solid propellant, can
carry a conventional warhead of 15 kg. It
is the smallest of the missiles developed
by the DRDO in terms of size and weight. It is 3.8-metre long and has a diameter of
178 mm with an overall launch weight of
160 kg. The missile could be launched
from different altitudes -- it can cover
110 km when launched from an altitude
of 15 km, 44 km when fired from an altitude of eight km and 21 km when the
altitude is sea-level. DRDO officials said it was more advanced
than the similar class of missiles of the
US, Russia and France. The missile's captive flight tests from
Su-30MKI were carried out near Pune in
November 2009 when seven sorties were
conducted. Astra's first flight trial took place on May
9, 2003 from the ITR at Chandipur.
day May 21, 2011, 11.30am IST PTI BALASORE: For the second day in a row,
India conducted a successful ballistic
flight test of indigenously developed
Astra - Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air
Missile - from the Integrated Test Range
at Chandipur on Saturday. "The missile was test-fired around 1032
hrs and the trial was successful," Defence
Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) sources said. The missile is envisaged to intercept and
destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic
speeds in the head-on mode at a range of
80 km and in tail-chase mode at 20 km. "Before the sophisticated anti air-craft
missile would be integrated with fighter
aircraft like Su-30 MKI, MiG-29 and Light
Combat Aircraft Tejas, it would undergo
some rigorous and flawless tests both
from ground and fighter jets," said a scientist associated with the project. Astra, which uses solid propellant, can
carry a conventional warhead of 15 kg. It
is the smallest of the missiles developed
by the DRDO in terms of size and weight. It is 3.8-metre long and has a diameter of
178 mm with an overall launch weight of
160 kg. The missile could be launched
from different altitudes -- it can cover
110 km when launched from an altitude
of 15 km, 44 km when fired from an altitude of eight km and 21 km when the
altitude is sea-level. DRDO officials said it was more advanced
than the similar class of missiles of the
US, Russia and France. The missile's captive flight tests from
Su-30MKI were carried out near Pune in
November 2009 when seven sorties were
conducted. Astra's first flight trial took place on May
9, 2003 from the ITR at Chandipur.
