Astra BVR Air-to-Air Missile

IN NEWS:

• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh cleared a proposal to acquire more astra missiles of the Indian airforce.

ABOUT ASTRA BVR AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE:

• Astra is an all-weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Astra missile is developed as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

Capabilities:

• It can intercept and destroy enemy targets with a launch speed between Mach 0.4 and Mach 2.
• It is intended to engage and destroy aerial targets with high maneuverability and supersonic speeds.
• Launch range and launch altitudes of the weapon system are 80km and 20km respectively.
• It is powered by a smokeless, single stage, solid fuel propulsion system.

Application:

• Astra has been integrated with Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI and will be integrated with Dassault Mirage 2000 and Mikoyan MiG-29 in the future.

WHAT IS A BEYOND VISUAL RANGE MISSILE?

• A beyond-visual-range missile (BVR) is an air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) that is capable of engaging at ranges of 37 km or beyond.
• In addition to the range capability, the missile must also be capable of tracking its target at this range or of acquiring the target in flight.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

Q. "Astra”, with reference to the defense sector, is a type of:

1. Air to Air missiles
2. Multi Barrel Rocket launcher
3. Unmanned aerial combat vehicle
4. Main Battle Tank

Answer to Prelims question