WATCH: IAF, DRDO Successfully Test-Fire Air-To-Air Missile Astra

India's indigenously designed air-to-air missile Astra was successfully test-fired from the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha, the DRDO said on Tuesday.

Image: Screengrab/ Twitter/DRDO

New Delhi: In a major boost to India’s defence capabilities, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have successfully flight tested Astra air-to-air missile with a range of over 70 km from a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet off the coast of Odisha. India's indigenously designed air-to-air missile Astra was successfully test-fired from the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha, the DRDO said on Tuesday. "Air-to-Air missile, Astra, has been successfully flight tested on Monday off the coast of Odisha. The missile was launched from Su-30 MKI as a part of user trials," Ministry of Defence said in an official statement on Tuesday. The live aerial target was engaged accurately demonstrating the capability of first indigenous air-to-air missile. "The mission profile was executed in a textbook manner. Various radars, Electro-Optical Tracking System (EOTS) and sensors tracked the missile and confirmed its engagement with the target," the statement added. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also congratulated IAF and DRDO teams for the successful test of Astra. Astra has been designed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the premier research and development organisation of the armed forces in the country. The Astra is capable of engaging targets of different ranges and altitudes including long-range as well as short-range targets.

Air-to-Air missile Astra successfully flight tested from Su-30 MKIhttps://t.co/okTopB4TBv pic.twitter.com/Ep9xXaVfeG

— DRDO (@DRDO_India) September 17, 2019

(Inputs from agencies)