Why in News?

• Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully undertaken a series of flight trials of Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVR-AAM) from September 26 to October 3, 2018.

Astra BVR-AAM Missle Test:

• The tests were conducted at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore, Odisha as part of the final development trials of the missile.
• The missile was tested in a combination of complex tests for engagement of pilotless target in different modes of manoeuvring, off-boresight, medium and long ranges.
• These tests make the missile ready for induction in service in 2019.

Astra Missile:

• Astra is an air to air beyond visual range air-to-air indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• More than 50 private and public sector industries are involved in development and production of different sub-systems of the missile.
• It is one of the smallest weapon systems developed by DRDO, having a length of 3.8-metre and weighing 154kg.
• It is a single stage solid fuelled missile and has a payload capacity of 15 kg conventional explosives.
• It can be launched from different altitudes and is capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes at both short-range targets (up to 20 km) in tail-chase mode and longrange targets (up to 80 km) in head-on mode.
• It is a radar homing supersonic missile having a maximum speed of Mach 4 (four times speed of sound).
• It possesses high Single Shot Kill Probability (SSKP), making it highly reliable. It is an allweather missile with active radar terminal guidance, excellent electronic counter-counter measure (ECCM) features, smokeless propulsion and process improved effectiveness in a
  multi-target scenario.
• It has an advance on-board electronic counter-measures that jam the radar signals from enemy radar, making tracking of the missile difficult.
• It is fitted with terminal active radar-seeker and an updated mid-course internal guidance system that helps missile to locate and track targets.
• The missile can be integrated with all fighter aircraft of IAF including Sukhoi-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, MiG-29, Jaguar and the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).