Indian Air Force Chief Supports Indigenous Astra Missile

The Chief of Air Staff, the Commanding Officer of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, has come out strongly in support of the indigenous Astra air-to-air missile becoming the standard beyond-visual-range missile of the Indian Air Force.

Speaking at a seminar to commemorate the IAF’s raid on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Balakot, Pakistan and the subsequent air skirmish which saw the loss of an IAF MiG-21, the loss of an IAF Mi-17 to friendly fire and the possible loss of a Pakistan Air Force F-16, the Air Chief expressed the intention to integrate the Astra missile on the indigenous Tejas, and the MiG-29 as well as the Su-30MKI.

The IAF has been somewhat dissatisfied with its existing R-77 missiles as they are outranged by Pakistan’s AIM-120C-5 missiles. The Astra, which has demonstrated a range of over 100km against fighter-sized maneuvering targets, is intended to replace the R-77 on the MiG-29 and Su-30MKI and augment the Derby missile on the Tejas.

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