&w=3840&q=100)
DRDO, IAF successfully test BVR air-to-air missile Astra from Su-30 Mk-I
New Delhi
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday carried out a flight test of the Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air missile (BVRAAM) Astra from Su-30 Mk-I platform off the coast of Odisha, said the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The performance of the Astra weapon system was validated through flight data recorded by range tracking instruments deployed at the test range in Chandipur, Odisha. The ministry said, 'These successful flight tests have re-established the accuracy and reliable performance of Astra weapon systems with indigenous seeker.'
Astra BVRAAM has a range of more than 100 kilometres, which is equipped with a guidance and navigation system. It also carried a radio-frequency (RF) seeker, which was developed and produced in India. In addition to various DRDO laboratories, more than 50 public and private industries, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), have contributed to the creation of the weapon system.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


United News of India
35 minutes ago
- United News of India
DRDO successfully conducts two consecutive flight-tests of Pralay missile
New Delhi, July 29 (UNI) Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two consecutive successful flight-tests of Pralay missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha. The flight tests were carried out on July 28 and 29 as part of the user evaluation trials to validate the missile system's maximum and minimum range capabilities. The missiles precisely followed the intended trajectory and reached the target point with pinpoint accuracy, meeting all the test objectives, a Defence Ministry statement said. All subsystems performed as per expectations, which were verified using test data captured by various tracking sensors deployed by Integrated Test Range (ITR) including instruments deployed on ship positioned near the designated impact point. Pralay is an indigenously developed solid propellant quasi-ballistic missile employing state-of-the-art guidance and navigation to ensure high precision. The missile is capable of carrying multiple types of warheads against various targets. The system has been developed by Research Centre Imarat in collaboration other DRDO labs. The flight-tests were witnessed by senior scientists of DRDO, representatives of the users from the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army as well as the industry representatives. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh while complimenting the DRDO, armed forces and industry said that the missile equipped with modern technologies will give further technological boost to the Armed Forces against threats. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and chairman DRDO Samir V Kamat congratulated the teams, stating that the successful completion of this phase-1 flight tests paves the way for induction of the system into the armed forces in near future. UNI RBE PRS


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
AI in the military: Path to ethical and strategic leadership
With defence emerging as one of AI's most sensitive applications, a blend of innovation and responsibility is vital. India is laying the groundwork for responsible use of AI in defence, which is being led by key institutions like the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), NITI Aayog, and ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY). AI(Unsplash) To ensure ethical oversight, the DRDO launched the ETAI framework for evaluating trustworthy AI. At its essence, the framework aims to tackle difficult questions such as legality, safety, and human control, right from the start of a system's development and through its lifecycle. The framework is modular, incorporating internal ethical assessments and formalised reviews based on the risk level of the technology. DRDO's goal here is to entrench responsibility into every stage of AI development and not treat it as an afterthought. The ETAI framework stands on five key pillars: Reliability, safety, transparency, fairness, and privacy: Reliability: System performance needs to be accurate, even in chaotic or unfamiliar battlefield scenarios. Safety: Guardrails against unintended consequences, particularly with autonomous machines. Transparency: Human commanders should have the ability trace and understand decision chains. Fairness: Algorithmic biases should not influence critical decisions. Privacy: Protects sensitive data from unauthorised access. The more autonomous and impactful an AI system is, the more rigorous its review. For example, a chatbot used for internal training would not require the same oversight as a drone with live targeting capabilities. In 2021, NITI Aayog also laid out a framework that aligns AI development with India's constitutional ethos, in particular Article 14 (Right to equality) and 21 (Right to life and personal liberty). The seven principles it emphasised are: * Safety and reliability * Equality * Inclusivity and non-discrimination * Privacy and security * Transparency * Accountability * Reinforcement of positive human values Although originally aimed at civilian sectors like health care, these principles are just as relevant for defence. After all, the ethical implications of facial recognition, predictive analytics, and autonomous systems remain just as relevant to military use. While the policy framed by DRDO and Niti Aayog appears to be robust and well—thought out, turning paper policy into practice is where the real challenge lies. Since these principles lack legal enforceability, co-ordination between agencies and ethical AI frameworks remains limited. As a result, many projects operate in silos, making comprehensive ethical oversight a challenge. More recently (in 2024), MeitY launched the IndiaAI Mission with over ₹10,000 crore in funding. This is meant to support researchers and companies who need heavy compute power for AI training. A big part of this initiative is (Artificial Intelligence Research, Analytics, and Knowledge Assimilation Platform (AIRAWAT), a public compute cloud designed to support India's AI needs, especially for startups and public agencies. In practice, AIRAWAT provides a cloud platform where developers can access massive computational power for training AI models. This can be directly beneficial for defence applications such as simulation training, image intelligence analysis, or building large language models for military use, which require supercomputing resources. While the ministry of defence, MeitY, and NITI Aayog are all making strides, their efforts are largely siloed. India needs a unified platform to align goals, streamline operations, and ensure ethical consistency. Key recommendations include: Setting up of a Defence AI Regulatory Authority with clear legal powers Making ethical and risk-based assessments mandatory in all defence AI procurements Expand AIRAWAT-like infrastructure specifically for secure military testing environments Build structured collaboration between DRDO, MeitY, and NITI Aayog It is clear that India has laid the foundation for responsible AI use in defence. It now needs to bring it all together. As countries in the Global South look for models that balance innovation with ethics, India has an opportunity to lead—not just by building powerful tools, but by using them wisely and lawfully. This article is authored by Zain Pandit, partner and Aashna Nahar, associate, JSA Advocates and Solicitors.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
DRDO successfully tests indigenous Pralay missile: Range capability validated
Test firing of Pralay tactical missle (ANI) NEW DELHI: The Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO ) on Tuesday carried out two back-to-back successful flight tests of the newly developed tactical missile Pralay, capable of carrying a conventional warhead, from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast, according to a statement from the office of defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. In a post onX, RMO said, 'The DRDO has conducted two consecutive successful flight tests of Pralay Missile on 28th and 29th July 2025 from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha.' — DefenceMinIndia (@DefenceMinIndia) The flight tests were conducted as part of user evaluation trials to verify the missile system's maximum and minimum range capabilities, the defence ministry said in an official statement. The missiles followed the planned trajectory and accurately reached the target, meeting all test objectives, DRDO also said in a post on X. "All subsystems performed as per expectations, which were verified using test data captured by various tracking sensors deployed by the integrated test range, including instruments deployed on ships positioned near the designated impact point," it added in a statement. "Pralay is an indigenously-developed solid propellant quasi-ballistic missile employing state-of-the-art guidance and navigation to ensure high precision," the ministry said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 7 Reasons Your Body Stores Belly Fat After 40 And What To Do OxyNaturals Read More Undo Pralay is a short-range surface-to-surface missile with a payload capacity of 500 to 1,000 kg. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), it is designed to carry conventional warheads and has a range of 150 to 500 km. Defence minister Rajnath Singh praised DRDO, the armed forces, and industry partners involved in the project, stating that the missile, which incorporates modern technologies, will enhance the armed forces' capabilities. Secretary, department of defence R&D and chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat congratulated the teams, stating that the successful completion of this phase-1 flight tests paves the way for induction of the system into the armed forces in near future, the statement put out by PIB said. The missile system was developed by the Research Centre Imarat in collaboration with several DRDO laboratories, including the Advanced Systems Laboratory, Armament Research and Development Establishment, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, and the research and development establishment (engineers). Industry partners in the project included Bharat Dynamics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, and various MSMEs. Earlier on July 25, DRDO successfully conducted flight trials of the unmanned aerial vehicle launched precision guided missile (ULPGM)-V3 at the national open area range (NOAR) in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The ULPGM-V3 is an upgraded version of the earlier ULPGM-V2 missile developed by DRDO. According to the official statement, the missile features a high-definition, dual-channel seeker capable of engaging various targets and can be launched in both plain and high-altitude areas. It has day-and-night capability and a two-way data link for post-launch target updates. The missile offers three modular warhead options: an anti-armour warhead to destroy modern armoured vehicles with rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) and explosive reactive armour (ERA); a penetration-cum-blast warhead for anti-bunker use; and a pre-fragmentation warhead with a high lethality zone.