DRDO readies for ‘Astra’ test

[chiranjib]

I think that our strategic planners are trying to have the MKI for exclusive fighter role (so long as the FGFA-s don't come along) ,Rafales for Ground Attack and Tejas for interceptor role.

In that case these Astras are more likely to be used in the Tejas planes and the Novator K-100 ALRAAM for MKI-s.

 

[BlueDot_in_Space]

Astra now uses a smoke less propulsion as seen in the above image.

Previous propulsion of Astra

R27 firing

Previous ASTRA tests on Sukhoi

 

[holysaturn]

One big leap in the astra is the smokeless propellent given that only US(amraam),japan(aam-4),israel(derby) have such technology as even mica,sd-10,r-77 smoke........and about the new dual pulse rocket motor in the astra ,it is very unique to astra as no other country has tested it yet(drdo also developed dual pulse rocket motor for lrsam) but the US is planning to include them dpr motors in JDRADM and future missile programs "Responses to this Broad Agency Announcement are sought to develop and test a dual pulse rocket motor and develop and test a Thrust Vector Control (TVC) mechanism compatible with the rocket motor, for use in future Navy anti-air missiles". https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=b10883ab74d0282d13de145991c11a45&tab=core&_cview=0 .......the beauty of the dpr motor is it has two motors in which one fires initially and the second fires during the endgame maneuvers where it keeps the energy of the missile up like in ramjet but eliminated the disadvantages of ramjet such as weight and masking of air intakes at high g skids.....

 

[acetophenol]

i wish we develop our own MANPAD based on ASTRA

 

[DARKY]

i wish we develop our own MANPAD based on ASTRA

154 Kg would be too heavy for a MANPAD.
If we make it small enough the active radar seeker might not fit in the nose.

However we can mount it on a small jeep and make a system comparable to what Avenger is.

 

[BlueDot_in_Space]

154 Kg would be too heavy for a MANPAD.
If we make it small enough the active radar seeker might not fit in the nose.

However we can mount it on a small jeep and make a system comparable to what Avenger is.

No luck mate. IA prefer buying such system from outside rather than procuring from DRDO. Look what is going on with NAG missile. NISHAT UAV did trials for decades and even after successful trials no hint of any induction.

 

[ApparentRaceTraitor]

So true, I just hate Indian media for claiming everything and anything under test as World class. We seriously need to ask them how a system under test be compared with already operational systems. Either DRDO is passing a self praising stories to the media or our media guys have gone nuts and add all their fantasies while reporting about any such events.

I don't mind best marketing for the stuff but not before it is ready to use. In the end, it is the product that has to prove its worth not some silly reports in media channels. Time for DRDO/media to get a bit mature..

What else can you really expect from the media industry in India, where a majority of journalists
a) probably have no idea what cross-referencing means ffs. No better example than passing off the JF-17 as an Indian plane last year in some publication (cant remember which one). The Chinese and Pakistani posters here were right to laugh at us for that. And,

b) believe that ratings are more important than FACTS while completely disregarding the basic principle of journalism: Comment is free but facts are sacred.


As for DRDO, they need to break away from this principle of saying we will do this, we will do that, and then what happens? 6 times out of 10 they end up shooting themselves in the foot. Now I am not saying that DRDO is shite, they have developed quite a few remarkable systems, but they need
a) to shut the f**k up till the product is developed
b) another governmental development agency to give them competition
c) to stop being such media c0ck-hounds.

 

[sancho]

As for DRDO, they need to break away from this principle of saying we will do this, we will do that, and then what happens? 6 times out of 10 they end up shooting themselves in the foot. Now I am not saying that DRDO is shite, they have developed quite a few remarkable systems, but they need
a) to shut the f**k up till the product is developed
b) another governmental development agency to give them competition
c) to stop being such media c0ck-hounds.

But that's not entirely their fault, I see it as a cultural problem, because just like they have too high expectations on their own capability, we Indians often have too high expectations on "indigenous" developments!
I don't believe Astra will be a top notch BVR missile, but even if not, fitted on our fighters it will make us less dependent on foreign missiles, that might have reliability issues, must be procured at high costs and might not be available in war times. Astra is meant to be a reliable base for Indian fighters, just like LCA, Dhruv, or the DRDO AWACS. If the forces need something better, we can co-develop or procure it, since we have plenty of options.
So even if it's end up with just 80Km range, I would be more than happy, as long as it is reliable and we can produce them in numbers whenever we want!

i wish we develop our own MANPAD based on ASTRA

Astra is a BVR missile with a radar seeker, while manpads usually are SR IR missiles, so that won't work.

 

[sarthak]

Pakistan has better infrastructure than your sh!tty nation. Roads , buildings , airports , parks etc... Way more Pakistanis live in Urban environment as compared with god-for saken indians (percentage)....

You know Kum kum right? She came to Pakistan to work in some drama few years ago...I was reading her interview and she was talking about difference in Pakistan/india and professional behavior of both nations' actors..In the end of the answer..she said "And oh yeah , their airports are much better than ours" ....oppppsss...Do you want me to dig up that interview and post it here? Or your journalists who wrote words after words how "indians should learn how to build roads from Pakistanis" and so on..

Drone attack is a political issue. We already have enough Satellites in the space that fulfill our needs...

Come back when you atleast have toilets for your nations' women ...

LOL , that's just one actress. Thousands of Pakistanis come to India every year and don't want to go back. You know what Adnan Sami said when asked whether he wanted to go back ? He said he would rather live in a slum in mumbai rather than go back to Pakistan
http://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthre...ather-than-moving-to-Pakistan-quot-Adnan-Sami

Really , your country and better infrastructure? The roads in your best cities are worse than the ones in our rural remote villages. Your rail network is one of the worst in the world and your ministers came here begging us to sell your rail engines. What else , well , your airports look worse than Indian railway stations. Every Indian tier 2 city has an airport better than what your cities Karachi or Lahore could ever dream of getting. 6 Indian cities already have operating metro rail systems , with at least 6 more cities having metro rail under construction. As for Pakistan , neither can you afford to build one , nor do you have the ability to plan one. Actually , it's better if you don't build one. It would be blown up by a terrorist on the very first day.
Also you dumbass , it's not about the number of satellites you have in space. It's about whether you have the capability to launch them into space. As for now, you can't even send a dog into space with your primitive technology. Even Bangladesh has build satellites which are probably better than your chinese ripoffs.

PS - We have way more toilets than Pakistan. The biggest slum in the world is now Orangi town in Karachi and the way your economically failed country is going , it is only expected to expand in the future. Maybe you can ask Indian companies to build cheap toilets for that slum.

 

[ApparentRaceTraitor]

But that's not entirely their fault, I see it as a cultural problem, because just like they have too high expectations on their own capability, we Indians often have too high expectations on "indigenous" developments!
I don't believe Astra will be a top notch BVR missile, but even if not, fitted on our fighters it will make us less dependent on foreign missiles, that might have reliability issues, must be procured at high costs and might not be available in war times. Astra is meant to be a reliable base for Indian fighters, just like LCA, Dhruv, or the DRDO AWACS. If the forces need something better, we can co-develop or procure it, since we have plenty of options.
So even if it's end up with just 80Km range, I would be more than happy, as long as it is reliable and we can produce them in numbers whenever we want!



Astra is a BVR missile with a radar seeker, while manpads usually are SR IR missiles, so that won't work.

Granted, we look at other defence R&D organizations and immediately assume that DRDO can go toe to toe with them, when in fact we ourselves occasionally forget that DRDO like any other governmental(Indian) organization is saturated with red tape, lack of competitive incentives for it's employees, and being the major defence R&D entity in India, it has grown lethargic, too big, and highly uncompetitive. If I was being paid something like 5000 or 10000 INR a month for my work, I'd sh1t all over it, that being said, its probably a good thing that a majority of DRDO's actual brains don't follow my principle..

 

[PRINCE_THE_SHOWSTOPPER]

I want our AWACS and indegenous AEWCS systems to be armed with this missile in the future to protect themselves from the "Awacs killers"..can this be done and will this be technologically feasable to destroy an incomming BVRAAM with another??

 

[rockstarIN]

But that's not entirely their fault, I see it as a cultural problem, because just like they have too high expectations on their own capability, we Indians often have too high expectations on "indigenous" developments!
I don't believe Astra will be a top notch BVR missile, but even if not, fitted on our fighters it will make us less dependent on foreign missiles, that might have reliability issues, must be procured at high costs and might not be available in war times. Astra is meant to be a reliable base for Indian fighters, just like LCA, Dhruv, or the DRDO AWACS. If the forces need something better, we can co-develop or procure it, since we have plenty of options.
So even if it's end up with just 80Km range, I would be more than happy, as long as it is reliable and we can produce them in numbers whenever we want!



Astra is a BVR missile with a radar seeker, while manpads usually are SR IR missiles, so that won't work.

I believe Astra will perform better than R-77 and R-27. Since we have access to the seekers of R-77 & R-27, we are getting IAI/Elta help too for a new seeker. If it is not good then the current Russian lot, we would not have planned the incorporation to our Mig-29 or more importantly SU-30.

 

[bloo]

I want our AWACS and indegenous AEWCS systems to be armed with this missile in the future to protect themselves from the "Awacs killers"..can this be done and will this be technologically feasable to destroy an incomming BVRAAM with another??

I really doubt that is possible, maybe in the far future AWACS may have such interception abilities but it seems rather impossible now.
It really doesn't matter though, coz AWACS are usually escorted by a group of interceptors, and more than often the SAM sites or the planes carrying "awacs killers" will most probably be detected by the AWACS themselves which will rally the information to the fighters, which will take the appropriate steps to take them down.
However lets face it Pakistan is no Iraq or Afghanistan, therefore it should be noted that in the case of an all out Indo-Pak war the AWACS won't exactly fly freely, unless and until the ground forces have neutralized the necessary Pakistani assets and the IAF has successfully undertaken SEAD missions.
Till then AWACS are most probably are a NO GO.
There can also be other parameters that may come into play.

 

[sancho]

I believe Astra will perform better than R-77 and R-27. Since we have access to the seekers of R-77 & R-27, we are getting IAI/Elta help too for a new seeker. If it is not good then the current Russian lot, we would not have planned the incorporation to our Mig-29 or more importantly SU-30.

The plan is to replace the current Russian missiles, a plan alone doesn't mean that our first own missile will be as capable. One thing that you can see throughout all developments is, that our designs have weight and drag issues. Even NAG is bigger and heavier than most comparable systems, so lets wait and see.
However, my point was that even if it don't offer the clamed 100Km, it still would be important to have it as a base of our fighter weaponpackage and that's what we have to focus on with our indigenous developments, not to confuse them with top notch systems of other countries.

 

[rahul_rao]

bas 1.4 mach?????????