Hyderabad: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Deputy Chief of Air Staff, conducted a two-day tour of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) in Hyderabad, Telangana, from July 23 to 24.
In the course of his visit, Air Marshal Dixit engaged with APVS Prasad, the Chief Executive of the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), U Raja Babu, the Director General of Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS), and representatives from Airbus and TASL.
He commended the push for indigenization and self-reliance by various organizations.
Significant moments of the Deputy Chief’s visit were the authorization of ASTRA missile production at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), the evaluation of avionics indigenization at HAL, and the examination of the C-295 aircraft production line at TASL.
The ASTRA missile, a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air-to-Air Missile (AAM), is intended for use on fighter jets to target and neutralize agile supersonic adversaries.
On July 24, the DRDO triumphantly executed a flight test of Phase II of the Ballistic Missile Defence System. A Target Missile, simulating an enemy Ballistic Missile, was fired from Launch Complex-IV Dhamra and was identified by land and sea-based weapon system radars, which then triggered the AD Interceptor system.
The Phase-II AD Endo-atmospheric missile was launched from Launch Complex-III at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha.
