Gandiva missile the absolute defender of Indian Sky
Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile hit flying target with precision. Missile designed by Defence Research body, targets over 300km.
Gandiva will soon enhance the Indian Air Force’s combat capabilities and become the absolute defender of the Indian Sky. An IAF TEJAS MK-1 fighter jet successfully conducted a test-launch of the indigenous ASTRA 3 Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) with help of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
Astra Mk-1 weighing 154 kg and having a range of 20 km to 110 km is already in service. It has a mid-course inertial guidance capable of receiving course corrections through a secure data link.
The missile’s active radar seeker, with a homing range of 25 km, can lock-on to a target with a radar cross section of 5 square metres from a distance of 15 km.
It is equipped with ECCM to allow operation even during enemy attempts to jam the seeker using ECM. Its maximum range is 20 km in tail chase mode and 110 km in head on chase mode. The maximum range is achieved when the missile launched from an altitude of 15 km.
When it is fired from an altitude of 8 km (26,000 ft), the range drops to 44 km and when it is launched from sea level, the range drops further to 21 km. It can be launched in both autonomous and buddy mode operation and can lock on to its target before or after it is launched.
The Astra Mk-2 is now under production and has started entering squadron service. It has a maximum range of 130–160 km depending on the firing altitude. The extended range shares most of the features of the Mark-1 variant.
Now enters the Gandiva missile, or Astra Mark-3, incorporating an air-breathing propulsion system. The missile has range of 340 km at 20 km altitude and a range of 190 km at 8 km altitude.
As per reports, the missile’s launch speed ranges from Mach 0.8 to 2.2 while the target hit speed ranges from Mach 2.0 to 3.6. It can engage highly manoeuvrable fighter aircrafts. The test was carried out on Wednesday off the coast of Chandipur in Odisha.
The ASTRA 3 missile, designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is capable of engaging targets over 300 km and features advanced guidance and navigation systems, allowing it to destroy targets with high accuracy.
The test-firing demonstrated a direct hit on a flying target, with all subsystems performing accurately and meeting mission parameters and objectives.
Following the successful test, Shri Rajnath Singh, Raksha Mantri congratulated the teams involved, while Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr. Samir V Kamat, also appreciated the efforts of the various organizations and industries.
Further trials are planned for performance evaluation, underscoring the ongoing commitment to enhancing India’s air combat capabilities. The missile will be entering production thereafter.
