India tests short range Astra missile

BHUBANESWAR - India Wednesday test-fired its short-range Astra air-to-air missile from a defence base in Orissa for the second time in two days, defence sources said.

The beyond visual range missile was tested at 2.05 p.m. from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in the district of Balasore, about 230 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

Astra is a high-end tactical missile and is envisaged to intercept enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in head-on mode at a range of 80 km and in tail-chase mode at 20 km.

The missile was earlier tested Tuesday, for the first time at night. “We are analyzing the data of both the tests” S.P. Dash, director of the test range told IANS.