The Hindu : Front Page : Astra missile to be tested soon

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Monday, Jan 07, 2008
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Astra missile to be tested soon

It is meant to intercept target at supersonic speeds

A captive flight test will be first carried out in March-April
The missile will be later integrated with the Light Combat Aircraft and Sukhoi-30

HYDERABAD: Astra, the beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, having the capability to engage a high-speed, fast-manoeuvring target, will soon be tested by integrating the weapon system to a fighter aircraft.

A captive flight test would be first carried out in March-April by fitting the missile to the aircraft, Astra project director S. Gollakota told The Hindu here. During the test, the aircraft would conduct several manoeuvres at different speeds and altitudes when the mechanical, electronics and avionics compatibility would be checked. Following this, the flight test would be conducted when the missile fitted to the aircraft would be fired. “We are hoping to do it by October-November 2008,” he added.

He said the “futuristic missile” meant exclusively to intercept the target at supersonic speeds (1.2 to 1.4 Mach) was already tested on the ground to prove its avionics, guidance and other sub-systems, including the propulsion. After the flight trials, the missile would be integrated with the multi-role Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas) and Sukhoi-30 by the year-end. Early next year, it was planned to be integrated with MIG-29 and Mirage 2000.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists are working to ensure that Astra performed effectively at different altitudes — one cruising at an altitude of 15 km with a range of 100 km, another at an altitude of eight km with 44 km range and the third (sea-level altitude) with a range of 21 km.

Stating that it was a highly agile missile though smallest of the DRDO’s weapon systems in terms of size and weight, Dr. Gollakota said it was better than missiles of similar class belonging to Russia, the United States and France. The aerodynamics design combined with accurate guidance, sensors and the Radio Frequency seeker provided the missile with the much-needed capability to intercept fast-moving targets at supersonic speed.

In a typical combat scenario, the coordinates of the target would be passed on to the missile by the radar of the mother aircraft through a secure data link system. This would ensure that “handing over errors” were minimised, accuracy increased and the miss-distance was less than five metres.

In the last 15 km, the seeker becomes active and homes in onto the object.

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