For the second day in a row, India conducted a successful ballistic flight test of indigenously developed Astra – Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile – from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha today. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources said, the missile was test-fired around 1032 hrs and the trial was successful. The missile is envisaged to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in the head-on mode at a range of 80 km and in tail-chase mode at 20 km. Astra, which uses solid propellant, can carry a conventional warhead of 15 kg. It is the smallest of the missiles developed by the DRDO in terms of size and weight. It is 3.8-metre long and has a diameter of 178 mm with an overall launch weight of 160 kg. The missile could be launched from different altitudes. DRDO officials said it was more advanced than the similar class of missiles of the U.S., Russia and France.