SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.
Indian Air Force will soon arm its Russian-developed Su-30MKI fighter jet squadrons with a deadly long-range derivate of the Israeli Derby BVR Air-to-Air Missile with Active Radar seeker as its captive flight trial near completion. I-Derby ER powered by a dual-pulse rocket motor can engage aerial targets in a range exceeding 100Km (140km ).
I-Derby ER contains electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) designed to deal with the challenges of aerial combat in a hostile environment with exceptional operational flexibility and already has been cleared for operations on India’s LCA-Tejas Mk1 Platform.
After Astra Mk1 (110km) BVR integration, I-Derby ER will further boost Su-30s Air to Air missile arsenal. IAF has planned to slowly phase out Russian-developed R-77 BVR missiles for better Astra Mk1 and I-Derby ER BVR missiles that can engage targets over 100km and feature two-way communication based on Software-Defined Radio (SDR) system that is very difficult to jam.
IAF also has plans to integrate Astra Mk2 (160km) and Astra Mk3 (340km) with Very Long range air to air missiles by 2025. Trials of the Israeli I-Derby ER BVRAAMs along with Astra Mk2 are planned to be carried out this year and through 2023 to certify before they are cleared for operations.
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