Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam may opt to purchase Astra from India to replace Russian R-77 missiles

New Delhi, Jun 10: Countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam may opt to purchase the Astra which may be compatible with the Su-30 fighters and be more capable than the older Russian R-77 missiles, which are presently in Indian inventories. It is being assumed that international sanctions on Russia might have made it difficult for Russian client states to place new weapons orders.

 

 

 

 

Last month, India awarded a USD 424.4 million contract to state-run Bharat Dynamics Limited to supply the homegrown Astra MK-1 beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile to the armed forces. Considering the prevailing conditions of war in Europe, India may also choose to export Astra MK-1, capturing a market niche for alternative suppliers of Soviet and Russian-standard equipment. The war has resulted in questionable reliability on Moscow for defence equipment export.

 

 

 

 

 

According to Asian Times, India has claimed to have fully indigenized production of the Astra, with the Ministry of Defence saying that the missile had been designed with the need to reduce dependence on foreign sources. The statement also claims that the Astra is economically and technologically superior to many such imported missile systems now in Indian service, such as the Russian R-77, Israeli Derby, and French Meteor BVR missiles.

 

 According to the recent updates, countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are probable of opting to purchase the Astra. The indigenous Astra missile system may be compatible with the Su-30 fighters and more capable than the older Russian R-77 missiles.