Astra Mk-1

About Astra Mk-1 missile-

• It is a beyond visual range (BVR), air-to-air missile (AAM), designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for deployment on fighter jets like Sukhoi-30 MKI and Tejas of the IAF and the Mig-29K of the Navy.
• BVRs are capable of engaging beyond the range of 20 nautical miles or 37 kilometers.
• They are fired from an airborne asset to destroy an airborne target. 
• The Astra project was tested for the first time in May 2003. 
• Since then, it has been test-fired multiple times and integrated with Su-30 MKI fighters. 
• The missile will also be integrated with Tejas Mark-1A and upgraded MiG-29s over the next few years.
• While the range for Astra Mk-1 is around 110 km, the Mk-2 with a range over 150 km is under development and Mk-3 version with a longer range is being envisaged. 
• One more version of Astra, with a range smaller than Mk-1 is also under development.
• The purchase will be under the Buy (Indian- indigenously designed, developed and manufactured (IDDM)) category of defence acquisition, procurement of products from an Indian vendor that have a minimum of 50 per cent indigenous content calculated on the basis of cost of the total contract value.
• Until now, the technology to manufacture missiles of this class indigenously was not available. 
• Around 50 private and public industries, including the IAF and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), have contributed in building the Astra systems.