Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) [India], July 12 (ANI): Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the successful flight-test of the indigenous Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile (BVRAAM) 'Astra' equipped with an indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) Seeker, off the coast of Odisha.

In an X post, Patnaik wrote, 'Congratulate DRDO on the successful flight-test of indigenous Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile (BVRAAM) 'Astra' equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) Seeker from Su-30 MKI platform, off the coast of Odisha.'

The test was carried out by DRDO in coordination with the Indian Air Force (IAF).

According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), during the tests, two launches were carried out against high-speed unmanned aerial targets at different ranges, target aspects and launch platform conditions. In both cases, the missiles destroyed the targets with pinpoint accuracy.

During the tests, all subsystems performed as per expectations, including the RF seeker, which has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO. The flawless performance of the Astra weapon system was validated through flight data captured by Range Tracking instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. These successful flight tests have re-established the accuracy and reliable performance of the Astra weapon system with an indigenous seeker, the release emphasised.

Astra BVRAAM has a range exceeding 100 km and is equipped with an art guidance and navigation system. In addition to various laboratories of DRDO, more than 50 public and private industries, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, have contributed towards the successful realisation of the weapon system.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, IAF and industry involved in the design and development of the RF seeker and stated that the successful testing of the missile with an indigenous seeker is a major milestone in critical defence technology.

Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, Samir V Kamat, congratulated all the teams involved during the successful flight test. (ANI)