As the laboured final stretch of India’s LCA Tejas trudges on, there’s a final milestone on the, well, horizon. A Tejas fighter with a fully integrated multi-mode radar and new quartz radome is all set to fire its first BVR missile off the coast of Goa — Livefist can confirm it will be a Rafael Systems Derby (mock-ups pictured above last year). As reported earlier by Livefist, the Derby has been signed on as a stopgap in the event that the indigenous Astra doesn’t enter the field of play in time. More details on this upcoming test soon.
The real wait, of course, is for the Tejas to begin carriage and firing tests of the in-development Astra, which has already been fired a few times from an IAF Su-30MKI.
Hi Shiv,
Which version of Derby is integrated. As media reported earlier I-Derby – ER? Also could you please let us know range details. Thanks in Advance…
Sri
Given that the Astra has been test fired from the S-30 MKI, that doesn't make much sense.Looking forward to hearing news of the Astra being fired from the Tejas.