Prasun K. Sengupta

Building up on the military-technological/military-industrial successes achieved thus far through its 25km-range  Akash-1 surface-to-air missile (SAM) and 80km-range B arak-8 LR-SAM (see FORCE February 2017) projects, India’s ministry of defence-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is now poised to achieve a hattrick of sorts by deploying a family of precision-guided weapons that will all use the same basic airframe — the Astra-1 beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), the quick reaction surface-to-air-missile (QR-SAM), and the new-generation anti-radiation missile (NG-ARM).

While the Akash-1 is now operational with both the Indian Army (IA) and Indian Air Force (IAF), the Barak-8’s projected operators include the IA, IAF and the Indian Navy (IN). The Astra-1 will enter service with the IAF early next year, while the QR-SAM will be service-inducted by both the IA and IAF, with the 45km-range NG-ARM being delivered by late next year to the IAF and IN.

The 3.8-metre long Astra-1 BVRAAM has been under active development since December 2012 and its final development trials were successfully concluded between September 11 and 14. Altogether, seven kinematic trials were conducted against DRDO-developed PTAE-7 Lakshya pilotless target aircraft (PTA), these involving guided-firings from an IAF Su-30MKI at different altitudes — one at an altitude of 15km with 90km to 110km range, another at an altitude up to 30,000 feet having a range of 44km, while the third was at sea-level with a range of 21km. Having a diameter of 178mm with an overall launch weight of 160kg, the Astra-1 carries a 15kg warhead, and it makes use of an imported Russia-origin (Agat JSC-supplied) 9B-1348E Ku-band terminal active radar seeker — the same that is used by the in-service Vympel JSC-supplied R-77 BVRAAMs of the IAF and IN. The follow-on Akash-2 variant now under development will make use of an indigenous Ku-band seeker developed by the DRDO’s Hyderabad-based Research Ce