The Air Force has approved the manufacturing of 200 Astra Mark 1 missiles. It can hit air-to-air targets up to a distance of 100 kilometers. Sukhoi 30 MKI and Tejas are being equipped with this missile.
The Indian Air Force has approved the manufacturing of 200 indigenous air-to-air missiles Astra Mark 1. It has been developed by DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization), an organization of the Government of India. The missile is being manufactured by BDL (Bharat Dynamics Limited).IAF officials said the production approval to BDL was given during the recent visit of Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit to Hyderabad. The project worth over Rs 2,900 crore was approved by the Defense Acquisition Council in 2022-23. After completion of all tests, production approval has now been given for that order.
How Astra Mark 1 missile special?
Air-to-air missiles are used during air combat between fighter planes. With this, other types of aerial targets like aircraft or helicopters can also be destroyed. Range is very important for this type of missile.
The fighter plane which has a missile with longer range will have an advantage over the other. India has to import most of the air to air missiles. There is a distinct shortage of Beyond Visual Range missiles. In view of this, DRDO started the Astra missile program.
Astra Mark 1 missile can hit up to a distance of 100 kilometers. Russian fighter jet Sukhoi 30 MKI and Indian fighter aircraft Tejas (LCA Tejas) are being equipped with this missile. This will increase the capability of the Indian Air Force in air combat.
DRDO is also working on Astra Mark 2 missile. Its range will be around 130 kilometers. Along with this, work is also going on to develop an air-to-air missile with a range of 300 kilometers.
