India Missiles and Guided Munitions

Gessler · Sep 14, 2024

Bhartiya Sainik said:
They look like Mk1 by fin design & position, which doesn't match with Mk2 in diagram.

Pretty sure that pic in the tweet is a Derby.

Astra Mk2 has always looked externally similar to Mk1.

Bhartiya Sainik · Sep 14, 2024

Gessler said:
Pretty sure that pic in the tweet is a Derby.

Astra Mk2 has always looked externally similar to Mk1.

"MARK II" is printed on it. But these all are CAD or static models.

Gessler · Sep 14, 2024

Bhartiya Sainik said:
"MARK II" is printed on it. But these all are CAD or static models.

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As you can see, it is printed on the missiles being carried by aircraft as seen in the tweets I posted as well. It's possible the design changed or they deemed any modification to the airframe unnecessary.

Either way, the diagram in the post you originally quoted is not any iteration of Astra at all - it's clearly Derby as you can tell by the highly triangular fins.

Bhartiya Sainik · Sep 14, 2024

Gessler said:
As you can see, it is printed on the missiles being carried by aircraft as seen in the tweets I posted as well. It's possible the design changed or they deemed any modification to the airframe unnecessary.

Either way, the diagram in the post you originally quoted is not any iteration of Astra at all - it's clearly Derby as you can tell by the highly triangular fins.

The focus is not the diagram. My question was/is if someone has real pic of Astr-2.
I can't say anything on ideal efficient design of a missile but after internet search i'm convinced that Astr-2 will have shorter fins & Astr-3 will be SFDR.
We also need a missile which can fit in more numbers in IWB of AMCA. A longer/wider chord/fin makes it difficult.

Gessler · Sep 14, 2024

Bhartiya Sainik said:
The focus is not the diagram. My question was/is if someone has real pic of Astr-2.
I can't say anything on ideal efficient design of a missile but after internet search i'm convinced that Astr-2 will have shorter fins & Astr-3 will be SFDR.
We also need a missile which can fit in more numbers in IWB of AMCA. A longer/wider chord/fin makes it difficult.

Well I've shown you missiles with "Astra Mk-II" printed on them releasing from Su-30.

I don't know how much more real it can get.

Bhartiya Sainik · Sep 15, 2024

Gessler said:
Well I've shown you missiles with "Astra Mk-II" printed on them releasing from Su-30.

I don't know how much more real it can get.

Picture quality poor. It will be confirmed in near future.
The static models & diagrams also seem to be official. So it is posible they changed the fin design thereafter.
The AIM-120, Derby, Meteor, etc AAMs have shown effectiveness with short fins. Meteor & our Astr-3 SFDR have only the aft fins.

Gessler · Sep 15, 2024

Bhartiya Sainik said:
Picture quality poor. It will be confirmed in near future.

In the pic in this article you can clearly see "BVR MK-II ASTRA" on the missile body:

IAF Shows Off 160 Km Range Astra Mk-II Missile In Promo Video Released Ahead Of 90th Air Force Day

Astra Mark-II will have improved jammer resistance and an indigenous seeker. It will also be equipped with a dual-pulse rocket motor to improve the range and performance of the missile.

swarajyamag.com

Bhartiya Sainik · Sep 15, 2024

Gessler said:
In the pic in this article you can clearly see "BVR MK-II ASTRA" on the missile body:

IAF Shows Off 160 Km Range Astra Mk-II Missile In Promo Video Released Ahead Of 90th Air Force Day

Astra Mark-II will have improved jammer resistance and an indigenous seeker. It will also be equipped with a dual-pulse rocket motor to improve the range and performance of the missile.

swarajyamag.com

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Ok, thanks for a better pic. But like i said the static models & diagrams also appear to be official, so it is possible that this test was carried during design transition. Our aim should be to progress towards beter designs in any way.