Astra BVRAAM

IndianHawk

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There are certain tit bits in that poster which a keen eye will find and realize that there is a LOT more to our pokey little domestic missile than first impression.

Anyone want to take some guesses? :playball:
There is a lot. It will act as CCM also. Then it has buddy mode. So it can be cued by AWACS after being fired from su30/ lca. Or by other fighters.

Also launcher is same to r73 ! So it can go to all aircrafts with r73 launcher == lca /mig29/ mirage and even mig21!( Although they will be retired before it)

I'm just glad that now lca will have a missile outreaching f16. It will also raise export prospect of lca against fa50 or jf17 none of which can match a weapon like Astra.

Astra range declaration has also poured cold water over American offer of aim 120 c7 with f21.
Now they have to step up .
 

Aaj ka hero

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There is a lot. It will act as CCM also. Then it has buddy mode. So it can be cued by AWACS after being fired from su30/ lca. Or by other fighters.

Also launcher is same to r73 ! So it can go to all aircrafts with r73 launcher == lca /mig29/ mirage and even mig21!( Although they will be retired before it)

I'm just glad that now lca will have a missile outreaching f16. It will also raise export prospect of lca against fa50 or jf17 none of which can match a weapon like Astra.

Astra range declaration has also poured cold water over American offer of aim 120 c7 with f21.
Now they have to step up .
But astra range is 100km max and aim 120 is 120km max, so how Astra poured cold water on them. :shock:
 

IndianHawk

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But astra range is 100km max and aim 120 is 120km max, so how Astra poured cold water on them. :shock:
Read above posts. Astra range is more than 100k. Mentioned as 100km+. And it has better kinematics than aim120c5/c7.

Only aim 120d is better which the American aren't offering . As American themselves have nothing better now ( aim 260 is in development will come only by2026).

So now American will have to offer aim120d which is their own premium weapon. Not gonna happen.
 

ezsasa

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But astra range is 100km max and aim 120 is 120km max, so how Astra poured cold water on them. :shock:
Firstly we have to come out of this assumption that BVR engagements happen in a straight line. With BVR it is not the case of one shot one kill.

Among other things, BVR success ratio is also dependent on sustained Gs while keeping enemy aircraft in “sight”.

so basically among other things, which ever BVR missile which can match the evasive action by enemy aircraft without bleeding momentum will have more success ratio.

Which means it’s not just the range, it’s also the motor associated with the missile which plays a major part.

Others can correct me if I am wrong..
 

IndianHawk

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Yes, but at what cruise speed? Everything I am looking at says it is so slow any fighter that turns at BVR ranges can outrun it.
What are you looking at?? It's kinetic energy is more than all similar missiles so it is better than all single motor missiles. If fighters can outrun it they can also outrun derby , r77 , aim120c5/c7 and mica .

And if you are comparing it with dual motor missile or sfdr missile like meteor than you are making a mistake.
 

IndianHawk

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Firstly we have to come out of this assumption that BVR engagements happen in a straight line. With BVR it is not the case of one shot one kill.

Among other things, BVR success ratio is also dependent on sustained Gs while keeping enemy aircraft in “sight”.

so basically among other things, which ever BVR missile which can match the evasive action by enemy aircraft without bleeding momentum will have more success ratio.

Which means it’s not just the range, it’s also the motor associated with the missile which plays a major part.

Others can correct me if I am wrong..
The range generally means as long as missile is either powered or has high velocity still despite fuel is spent. ( Due to kinetic momentum).

We must remember DRDO is pretty conservative with its data. So even at 100km Astra may have more energy than its counterparts.

But realistically fighter jets are only shot down within 30 km ranges. Most air battles are fought and won by CCM . Like r73 shotdown f16.

That is why nez is more accurate matrix against fighter jets / fast manuevering targets as nez is the zone in which missile has full power to chase target. After that speed and agility of missile only decreases.

Hence future is ducted ramjet and daul pulse motors. Both of which are being developed by DRDO.
 

Steven Rogers

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Given IAF interest in derby ER it is clear they would want a dual pulse version of Astra with expanded nez.
Dual pulse motor is already there in ngarm missile.

About aesa seeker. Rajnath Singh unveiled new akash NG RF seeker . Need to check what it's based upon. I believe same seeker will be ported to Astra mk2 ( adjusted for size ).
trishul blogger was talking about some dual mode seeker(IR+RF) for akash NG in the reply of various cues in his latest blog...
 

Frontrunner

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Many posters are confusing between dual pulse nd dual motor... These are two different things... Dual pulse doesn't mean missiles will have a second stage or second motor... Instead dual pulse missiles like Derby ER nd barak 8 have a second ignition of motor once their missiles seekers goes Pitbull.... Most or already aware bvr missiles burn up all it's fuel to fly high nd then glide (rather after gaining speed) towards their target... So they doesn't have much energy left to pull of high g to hit a highly maneuverable target.. when launhed at Dmax..

Dual pulse missiles hv an advantage.. instead... When it is near to target with it's seeker turned on.. their comes a second ignition of rocket motor to provide better kinematics nd to pull high G's to hit a maneuverable target. That's why muxh touted barak 8 (claimed to be only credible defence against supersonic brahmos) nd derby ER is what indian armed forces are acquiring or hv already acquired..

With DRDO participation in MRSAM project where they provided the dual pulse motor... Rest assured Astra 2 or astra mk1A will come equipped with dual pulse motor further enhancing it's lethality..
 

Prashant12

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DRDO’s supersonic missile ready for IAF fighters

NEW DELHI: India’s first indigenous beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) for fighters, Astra, is now finally ready for induction after 15 tortuous years of development, with the DRDO expecting the IAF to initially order at least 200 missiles for its Sukhoi-30MKI jets.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation is also already working to increase Astra’s strike range from the existing 110-km to over 160-km. “Astra is one of the best BVRAAMs in the world today. We have the capability to develop it for longer ranges,” said DRDO chief Dr G Satheesh Reddy, talking to TOI.
India has joined a handful of countries like US, Russia, France and Israel in developing such advanced air combat missiles that can destroy highly-agile enemy supersonic fighters packed with “counter-measures’’ at long ranges, say officials.

The importance of having deadly air-to-air missiles was underscored during the skirmish between Indian and Pakistani fighters along the Line of Control on February 27, a day after IAF jets bombed the JeM facility at Balakot.

The sleek 3.57-metre long Astra, with a mass weight of 154-kg, flies over four times the speed of sound at Mach 4.5. To be produced by defence PSU Bharat Dynamics for about Rs 7-8 crore per unit, Astra will be a much cheaper indigenous alternative to some of the expensive Russian, French and Israeli BVRAAMs currently imported to arm IAF fighters.

After the Russian-origin Sukhois, the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft will also be equipped with the all-weather Astra. The missile, which is capable of handling multi-target scenarios, has “state-of-the-art ECCM (electronic counter-counter measures) to tackle jamming by hostile aircraft, active radar terminal guidance and “highly accurate complex end-game algorithms for high single-shot kill probability” in both head-on and tail-chase modes.

The DRDO is all gung-ho after it conducted five successful trials of the Astra from Sukhoi fighters against Jet Banshee target aircraft or UAVs, simulating all possible threat scenarios, off the Chandipur coast in Odisha last week.
“The targets were hit at distances of 80 to 86-km with pinpoint accuracy. The technologies developed under the programme will be the building blocks for developing future variants of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles,” said an official.

India may have developed long-range nuclear missiles like the Agni-V, which has a strike range over 5,000-km, but had faltered in building BVRAAMs till now. Astra suffered from several technical glitches like a defective aerodynamic configuration since the missile project was first sanctioned in March 2004 at an initial cost of Rs 955 crore.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...ady-for-iaf-fighters/articleshow/71355843.cms
 

Lancer

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What do you guys think the range difference is between the AIM 120C-5, and the Astra? The range for the AMRAAM is very vaguely listed in most places as greater than 105 km, whereas the most common figures I've seen for the Astra are 110 km.

I hope the real gap is bigger than that.
 

uoftotaku

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What do you guys think the range difference is between the AIM 120C-5, and the Astra? The range for the AMRAAM is very vaguely listed in most places as greater than 105 km, whereas the most common figures I've seen for the Astra are 110 km.

I hope the real gap is bigger than that.
The real range of any weapon system is a closely guarded secret. It is also very highly dependent on the particular scenario of circumstances being depicted. Astra Mk.1 has been designed to replace the R-77 with a superior performing weapon. It achieves that. The Mk.II version will replace the R-27E while the SFDR Mk.III will move into a new realm of range and performance.
 

Armand2REP

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What do you guys think the range difference is between the AIM 120C-5, and the Astra? The range for the AMRAAM is very vaguely listed in most places as greater than 105 km, whereas the most common figures I've seen for the Astra are 110 km.

I hope the real gap is bigger than that.
86km is the max that has been demonstrated, in order to achieve that it has to cruise at low Mach. The doctrine of the missile is to use low thrust with a blue flame not to show up on TWR and then speed up at the last second to nail the target. The faster it cruises the less range it has.
 

Lancer

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The real range of any weapon system is a closely guarded secret. It is also very highly dependent on the particular scenario of circumstances being depicted. Astra Mk.1 has been designed to replace the R-77 with a superior performing weapon. It achieves that. The Mk.II version will replace the R-27E while the SFDR Mk.III will move into a new realm of range and performance.
I'm basically trying to find out if we currently have anything that can equal or surpass Paki AMRAAM's. That's my ultimate concern above and beyond anything.
 

patriots

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I'm basically trying to find out if we currently have anything that can equal or surpass Paki AMRAAM's. That's my ultimate concern above and beyond anything.
Ya....we have ...
We have ordered ....new bvrs from Russia tested....too
I have confirmed with multiple sources
Again astra is better than amraam
And r77
...astra may be inducted in next year ....
 

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