Balasore: India on Monday twice successfully test-fired the home-grown short-range Astra air-to-air missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Orissa coast, an official said.
The beyond visual range missile was first test-fired at 0945 hrs IST and then at 1206 hrs IST
"It was a very good flight," said ITR Director SP Dash.
Astra is a high-end tactical missile that is envisaged to intercept enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in head-on mode at a range of 80 km and in a chase mode at 20 km.
The missile is intended for the Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000H, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, MiG-21 Bison and Tejas combat jets, as also the Indian Navy's Sea Harrier jump jets.
It resembles an elongated Matra Super 530 missile and uses an in-house developed solid fuel propellant, though its developer, the Defence Research and Development Organisation, is believed to be looking at rocket/ramjet propulsion similar to that used in its Akash surface-to-air missile project.
The missile was first tested in May 2003.
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