Tejas & ASTRA

Why is in news? LCA Tejas successfully test-fires indigenous ASTRA Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missile off Goa coast

Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) LSP-7 successfully fired the ASTRA indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile off the coast of Goa on August 23, 2023. The missile release was successfully carried out from the aircraft at an altitude of about 20,000 ft.

Tejas:

It is the lightest, smallest and tailless multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft in its class.

This aircraft is designed to carry a range of air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision-guided, weapons.

It has the air-to-air refuelling capability.

The maximum payload capacity of Tejas is 4000 kg.

Speed: Mach 1.8.

It is designed by Aeronautical Development Agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development.

It is manufactured by State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Variants of Tejas:

Tejas Trainer: 2-seater operational conversion trainer for training air force pilots.

LCA Navy: Twin- and single-seat carrier-capable for the Indian Navy.

LCA Tejas Navy MK2: This is phase 2 of the LCA Navy variant.

LCA Tejas Mk-1A: This is an improvement over the LCA Tejas Mk1 with a higher thrust engine.

ASTRA missile:

It is an indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile.

It is to engage and destroy highly maneuvering supersonic aerial targets.

It is designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and other laboratories of DRDO.

The indigenous Astra BVR firing from home grown Tejas fighters is a major step towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.