Indian Missile News And Discussion

[Arun_S]

[url="http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/12/stories/2010011250330100.htm"]Two Astra missiles flight-tested successfully: HINDU[/url]

Y.Mallikarjun



Final trial expected to be conducted by year-end





HYDERABAD: Two ballistic flight tests of Astra, Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), were successfully carried out from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Balasore, Orissa, on Monday.



Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials said the first missile was fired around 9.15 hrs and the second one at 12.00 hrs. Both were successful and the performance of the motor, propulsion system and the configurations of the vehicle and aero-dynamics evaluated.



The missile’s final trial was expected to be conducted by year-end after its integration with fighter aircraft Su-30 MKI. Astra would also be carried by MiG-29 and Light Combat Aircraft Tejas.



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.



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.

More advanced



The DRDO officials said it was more advanced than the similar class of missiles of the United States, Russia and France. The missile’s captive flight tests from Su-3MKI were carried out near Pune in November last when seven sorties were conducted. Astra’s first flight trial took place on May 9, 2003.

[url="http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-45297020100111"]India tests missile that jams ground radars: reuters[/url]

Mon Jan 11, 2010 12:03pm IST



BHUBANESWAR (Reuters) - India successfully tested on Monday an air-to-air missile that can jam ground radar systems, a senior defence scientist said.



The missile which has a range of 25 km (15 miles) can be fitted into any fighter aircraft and is known as the Astra (weapon), S.P. Dash, head of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Orissa said.



"It was a very good flight. The test was conducted to prove the control system," Dash told Reuters, after the missile hit targets accurately.



The success comes after a string of failures last year in which several missiles failed to meet the expected parameters during routine tests.



(Reporting by Jatindra Dash; Editing by Bappa Majumdar)

[url="http://www.domain-b.com/aero/mil_avi/miss_muni/20100111_successful_oneView.html"]Astra BVRAAM missile test firing successful news: domain-b[/url]

11 January 2010



Balasore, Orissa: India successfully test fired its prestigious 'Astra' beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Orissa coast on Monday, bringing it a step closer to operational induction.



"It was a very good flight. The test was conducted to prove the control system," ITR director SP Dash informed the media.



Another test is scheduled later in the day, he added.



The 'Astra' is a high-end tactical missile and is meant to intercept enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in head-on mode at a range of 80 km and in tail-chase mode at 20 km.



The missile is intended to be eventually integrated with the IAF's Sukhoi-30MKI, MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar and the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.



A previous test in May 2009 saw the missile's dual mode guidance being validated. This was a ground test. An earlier test in September 2008 saw the missile's navigation, control, air frame, propulsion and other sub-systems being validated.



According to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) the single stage, solid fuelled 'Astra' missile "is more advanced in its category than contemporary BVR missiles and it is capable of engaging and destroying highly manoeuvrable supersonic aerial targets."



Performance parameters



At the time of the 2008 tests, DRDO sources had spoken about the performance parameters of the 'Astra' saying that they would like to see it perform effectively at different altitudes - one cruising at an altitude of 15 km with 90 to 110 km range, another at an altitude up to 30,000 ft, having a range of 44 km and the third at sea level altitude with a range of 30 km.



The 'Astra' is 3.6 meters long, 7 inches in diameter and has a launch weight of about 154 kg. It will carry a 15 kg war head.



'Astra' had undergone two experimental flight tests from the ITR launch complex at Chandipur on 25 and 26 March 2007 to study its ballistic performance and control at low altitudes and shorter ranges.



The project is guided and led by Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) one of the many laboratories that function under the umbrella organisation of the DRDO.



The missiles prototypes were first tested on 9-12 May 2003.