Explained: Why The Astra MK-I Missile Deal Is Significant

On Tuesday, India's Ministry of Defence, signed a deal with Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL) for the supply of an undisclosed number of Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile (AAM) - Astra MK-1 as a part of project Astra for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy.

The deal is estimated to cost around Rs 2,971 crore, the move comes in the wake of cutting the dependency on Russian and French imports of missiles.

The Astra Mark-1 is the first indigenously developed air to air missile to serve the Indian forces developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation for the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI and Tejas of the IAF and the MiG-29K/KUB carrier of the Indian Navy.

What is project Astra?

PIB

Officially designed in the early 2000s, Project Astra is the program to develop indigenous BVM i.e., missiles beyond the visual range of 20 nautical miles or 37 kilometres and Air to Air Missiles that can be fired from air to an airborne target for close combat engagement.

The project was developed in a way that it included the scope of enhancement from the beginning.

The first version of Astra-Mark-1 was developed in 2017 and has been tested successfully at various junctures. Astra-1 comes with a range of 110 km, the DRDO is also developing Astra-2 with a range of 150-160 km and a smaller range of Astra as well. The astra-Mk-1 has a maximum speed of Mach 4.5 (over 5,500 kmph).

What is the contract between Ministry of Defence and BDL?

Economic Times

The signing of the Astra MK-1 contract paves way for the development of a range of missiles in future. The missile ranges are purchased under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category of defence acquisition with a minimum of 50 per cent indigenous content calculated on the basis of cost of the total contract value, as reported by The Indian Express.

DRDO has already shared the required technology and associated systems with the BDL for the manufacturing of Astra Mk-1. The project involves various public and private companies including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

¡°The project essentially embodies the spirit of ¡®Atmanirbhar Bharat¡¯ and will help facilitate realising our country¡¯s journey towards self-reliance in Air-to-Air Missiles¡± said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Why is the Astra project significant?

Designed to cater to the specifications and requirements of the IAF. The project envisages to integrate the Astra missiles on the MiG-29 of the IAF and Light Combat Aircraft ¡®Tejas¡¯ Mk 1 in a phased manner and to give the air force extended time to take the necessary actions in a crisis.

These missiles are planned to replace the existing Russian models of long-range air to air missiles, Astra is believed to be technologically and economically better than its foreign counterparts. Key features like guidance and propulsion have now been designed and equipped entirely indigenously.

"The advantage of having your own missile of this class is that none of your adversaries are aware of its characteristics - how the missile behaves, what frequencies it uses or its limitations. It can also be improved or upgraded in-house, whenever the need arises," officials aware of the development process told The Economic Times.

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