ASRAAM Missiles Will Replace Russian-Made R-73 Missiles on Indian Tejas Mk-1A Aircraft

The Indian Air Force has chosen the British short-range air-to-air missile ASRAAM to replace the Russian R-73 on Tejas fighters.

This was reported by the Indian resource IDRW.

ASRAAM tests are already underway in eastern India as part of the integration work on the new aircraft. This will potentially make India one of the few foreign users of this British missile.

Initially, 97 Tejas Mk-1A fighters will carry ASRAAM, several of which are due to enter service with the Indian Air Force in October 2025. About ten more aircraft are in the final stages of assembly at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited plant.

In addition to the new aircraft, Tejas fighters from the 18th and 45th squadrons will also be modernized to use British missiles.

It is worth noting that the Indian Air Force is implementing a large-scale rearmament program, gradually abandoning Russian models based on 1980s technology, which have not been significantly modernized and no longer meet modern requirements.

In March 2025, the representatives of MBDA UK held talks with India’s Bharat Dynamics Limited to establish a local assembly facility and jointly develop an improved version of the missile.

This approach can provide the British company with a significant order and strengthen its position in the Indian aviation weapons market, which has chosen ASRAAM due to its high combat performance.

The British ASRAAM missile is manufactured by MBDA UK and is one of the representatives of modern missiles with a thermal homing head that uses a CCD sensor. At the time of its introduction in 1998, it was a real breakthrough.

The missile has a unique aerodynamic design. It is controlled by four aft tail surfaces. According to the company’s official information, the range of the missile exceeds 25 km.

The missile’s software allows it to be integrated with most modern aircraft platforms, as well as with aircraft’s onboard radar and helmet-mounted targeting systems. Formerly having been the Block-6 version, ASRAAM has become completely independent of foreign components: it uses exclusively British components, which opens up opportunities for independent exports.

In addition, ASRAAM has become the basis for a whole family of CAMM anti-aircraft missiles, which are now used on both sea and land-based platforms.

Current users include the United Kingdom, which deploys the missile on its Typhoon and F-35B fighters, as well as other operators – in particular, the missile has already been integrated for use from land-based launchers for Ukraine. India has previously purchased these missiles for Jaguar strike aircraft.

In addition, the missiles were supplied to Qatar and Oman to equip Typhoon fighter jets exported by BAE Systems.

It is worth noting that MBDA UK has announced the expansion of ASRAAM missile production, in particular to meet Ukraine’s needs: these missiles are needed to repel missile and drone attacks from the Russian Federation.

According to the Ukrainian operators of the Raven anti-aircraft missile system, when used from ground launchers, the missile demonstrated high performance and effectiveness in 70% of 400 launches against enemy air targets.