Astra's design resembles Matra Super 530D and Vympel R-77 in a few aspects. Astra is long with a diameter of and weighs. It uses an inertial guidance system driven by a fibre optic gyroscope with terminal guidance through active radar homing. It is capable of receiving course corrections through a secure data link. The missile's active radar seeker with a homing range of is supplied by Agat and will be manufactured locally. The seeker can lock-on to a target with a radar cross section of 5 square metres from a distance of 15 km and enables off-boresight launches up to an angle of 45°. Some tests have been conducted in 2017 and 2018 using an indigenous seeker developed by Research Centre Imarat. Astra is equipped with electronic counter-countermeasures to allow operation even during enemy attempts to jam the seeker using electronic countermeasures. It carries a high explosive pre-fragmented warhead activated by a proximity fuse. Astra uses a smokeless solid fuelled motor that can propel the missile to a speed of Mach 4.7 and allows operation from a maximum altitude of. The maximum range of Astra is in head-on chase mode and in tail chase mode. The maximum range is achieved when the missile launched from an altitude of. When it is fired from an altitude of, the range drops to and when it is launched from sea level, the range drops further to. Astra's low aspect ratio wings allow it to engage manoeuvring targets up to a range of in head-on chase mode and in tail chase mode. It can be launched in both autonomous and buddy mode operation and can lock on to its target before or after it is launched.
Development
Preliminary work on Astra had begun by 1990 with the completion of a pre-feasibility study. Astra was revealed to the publicfor the first time at Aero India 1998. It was described as an elongated Matra Super 530D with a smaller diameter in front of the wings. The project to develop Astra missile was officially sanctioned in 2004 with a budget of. The project was to be led by Defence Research and Development Laboratory with assistance from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited. The initial version of Astra reportedly weighed with a range of and was planned to be integrated with HAL Tejas. It was tested for the first time in May 2003. The missile was redesigned around 2006 due to control issues and performance deficiencies at high altitude. The initial design of four cruciform short-spanlong-chord wings were replaced by cropped delta wings placed near the nose. The redesigned missile had an improved propulsion system and was tested for the first time in 2008. By 2013, the missile had been redesigned again in response to multiple failures caused by adverse interactions between flight control surfaces. The control, guidance, and propulsion systems were also reconfigured. After the second redesign, the missile was lighter than the initial version by around. It was tested from the ground thrice in December 2012 and captive trials from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI were held in April 2013. Astra completed final development trials in September 2017 and was cleared for production at Bharat Dynamics Limited's manufacturing facility in Bhanur, Telangana for an initial order of 50 missiles.
Future development
After the development of Astra Mk.1, three new variants are planned for future. Astra IR close combat missile with imaging infrared homing for shorter range up to. Astra Mk.2 with larger engagement envelope and a range of equivalent to AIM-120D while propulsion systems under consideration includes liquid-fuel ramjet, solid-fuel ramjet and dual pulse solid rocket motor. Astra Mk.3 will use newly developed solid fuel ducted ramjet technology with a maximum range of equivalent to Meteor missile.
Trials
Astra went through a series of ground tests from 2003 till 2012 in three different configurations to validate the airframe, propulsion system, control system, dual mode guidance and night firing capability. Carriage trials were carried out in 2009 and 2013 on Sukhoi Su-30MKI. In May 2014, it was fired for the first time in air. On 18 March 2016, the missile was fired in public during Iron Fist 2016 exercise from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI. During a series of seven tests in September 2017, Astra was tested twice with an indigenous seeker. During user trials in 2019, Astra managed to hit a target at a distance of.
