Watch: Tejas Successfully Fires Made-In-India Astra Beyond Visual Range Missile

Today (23 August), the Indian Air Force successfully conducted the maiden firing of the indigenously developed Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air (BVRAAM) missile from a Tejas aircraft.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) released a six second video of the Tejas LSP aircraft launching the missile.

The test was conducted off the coast of Goa using a limited series production aircraft (LSP-7) of Tejas.

The DRDO developed missile is believed to have a range of over 100 kilometre. The Defence Ministry has already ordered 248 Astra Mk-1 missiles — 200 for the Indian Air Force and 48 for the Indian Navy.

DRDO is also working on developing a new, longer-range variant of the missile, called Astra Mk-2.

This missile was first unveiled in a promo video put out by the IAF ahead of the 90th Air Force Day in October last year.

Reports say Astra Mark-II will have improved jammer resistance and an indigenous seeker. The missile could be equipped with a dual-pulse rocket motor to improve the range and performance. 

India is also working on another even longer-range variant called, Astra Mk-III, which will have a range of over 300 km. The missile will have solid fuel-based ducted ramjet (SFDR) propulsion.

Over the last few years, the DRDO has conducted multiple tests of SFDR technology critical for long-range air-to-air missiles.

The development of SFDR technology will enable India to make its own long-range air-to-air missile, which could mirror the capabilities of the best missiles in this class, like MBDA's Meteor, which the IAF uses on its Rafales.