Indigenously designed air-to-air missile Astra was successfully test-fired from the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha on September 17. The beyond-visual-range missile was launched from a Sukhoi-30 MKI as a part of user trials. A defence official said that as part of the trial, a live aerial target was engaged, accurately demonstrating the capability of the missile. “The mission profile was executed in a textbook manner,” said an official.