On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft LSP-7, successfully fired the ASTRA indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile off the coast of Goa.
The missile release was successfully carried out from the aircraft at an altitude of about 20,000 feet.
All the objectives of the test were met and it was a perfect text book launch.
![Tejas](//im.rediff.com/news/2023/aug/24lca-tejas.jpg?w=670&h=900)
IMAGE: The LCA Tejas successfully test-fires the ASTRA air-to-air missile off the Goa coast. All Photographs: ANI Photo
![Tejas](//im.rediff.com/news/2023/aug/24light-combat-aircraft1.jpg?w=670&h=900)
IMAGE: On July 1, 2023, the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas completed seven years of service in the Indian Air Force.
![Tejas](//im.rediff.com/news/2023/aug/24light-combat-aircraft2.jpg?w=670&h=900)
IMAGE: Only a handful of missile builders -- in the US, Russia, Europe and China -- have mastered the technologies that go into air-to-air missiles like the Astra.
![Tejas](//im.rediff.com/news/2023/aug/24light-combat-aircraft3.jpg?w=670&h=900)
IMAGE: Fired from a fighter aircraft travelling at over 1,000 km an hour, the Astra can destroy an enemy fighter more than 70 km away.
Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com