Indian Air Force: Production of Astra Mark 1 Missiles Approved

Indian Air Force (IAF) is a formidable pillar, along-with the Indian Army and Navy, of the Indian Armed Forces. Together, the 3 strong pillars have played a crucial role in protecting the borders of India from external conflicts for which the citizens should be grateful.

Firstly, the Indian Defence forces have many accomplishments to their name. The most memorable one in recent years has been the Balakot Air Strike of 2019 when the brave pilots crossed Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and dropped bombs in Balakot.

Balakot is a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, in retaliation to the Pulwama attack by the terrorist nation mere days prior in which many army men were martyred. The Indian Air Force and the Army leapt into action to send out a powerful message to the enemy country.

The attack sent waves of shock and outrage throughout the country, prompting the IAF to take immediate action following orders from the Indian government.

Secondly, the IAF, in August 2024, gave the go-ahead Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to produce 200 Astra Mark 1 air-to-air missiles, which is a huge milestone for homegrown production of miss toiles in India.

The Aviation Deal

It was Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, IAF deputy chief, who recently visited the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the main developer of Astra Mark 1. He then finalized the project that proved to be a significant milestone to the Air Force as they can now rely on home-made aircraft.

While the DRDO is taking over the development part, BDL took up the production part after getting the funding approval from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), where upon successful completion of the tests, green lit the Rs.2,900 crore project immediately.

Description

Defence experts tout Astra Mark 1 as India’s first air-to-air missile that has the capacity to destroy targets beyond visual range up to 110 km away and at altitudes as high as 20 m. It has a highly advanced guiding system that uses a radar seeker made in India.

One can easily gauge its versatility by the fact that it works with numerous aircraft, like the homemade LCA Tejas and the Russian Su-30MKI. This will provide a massive boost to India’s defense strengths as Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make In India’ campaign keeps setting newer benchmarks with each passing year.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the current world scenario is such that India needs to have one of the strongest defenses in terms of national security, especially considering what part of the world the country is in. This defense deal just goes on to prove that India is leaving no stone unturned in matters concerning national security and there are many more to come in the future.

Both the Indian Air Force and Army are two prominent defenses that the whole country is proud of, as its entirely due to them that its borders are safe and secure from all corners, where they’ve time and again thwarted many attempts by the enemy to breach its security and made them bite dust, both literally and figuratively.

Also read: Independence Day: A Journey of Blood, Sweat, and Sacrifice

Summary

Article Name

Indian Air Force: Production of Astra Mark 1 Missiles Approved

Description

The bravery and valor of the Indian Air Force are difficult to put into words, but this is a small attempt from the author to do so while also highlighting one of its recent breakthroughs in the aviation sector.

Author

Udit B Nath

Publisher Name

Buzz & Beyond

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