Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has successfully fired the ASTRA indigenous Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missile off the coast of Goa. The missile release was successfully carried out yesterday from the aircraft at an altitude of about 20 thousand feet. Defence Ministry said, all the objectives of the test were met and it was a perfect text book launch. ASTRA, a state of the art air-to-air missile to engage and destroy highly maneuvering supersonic aerial targets, is designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Research Centre Imarat and other laboratories of DRDO. The Ministry said, the indigenous Astra firing from home grown Tejas fighter is a major step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has said that the launch will significantly enhance the combat prowess of Tejas and reduce the dependency on imported weapons.
