By A Correspondent
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will soon buy and arm its fleet of MiG-29 fighter aircraft with Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) to boost its combat capabilities.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD), on March 25, 2026, issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for integrating and testing the ASRAAMs on the MiG-29 UPG variant. The RFP also included launchers, associated equipment, and training for aircrew and ground personnel.
The ASRAAM has a 25-km range, more than double that of the Soviet-era R-73 missile that it would replace on the 55-aircraft MiG-29 fleet, including eight twin-seat trainers. The MiG-29s entered the IAF service in 1987.
India had previously integrated the ASRAAM, an MBDA-produced European missile, on the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and the IAF’s Jaguar combat jet.
MBDA had signed up India’s state-run Bharat Dynamics Limited in 2021 to locally assemble and test the ASRAAM, a fourth-generation missile, in a facility in Hyderabad, Telangana.
The ASRAAM uses heat-seeking technology to track and hit its target, and is optimised for close-in aerial dogfights. A fire-and-forget weapon system, the missile guides itself to the target once the pilot has fired it away and requires no further input.
Measuring 2.9 metres in length and weighing 88 kg, the missile can touch speeds of Mach 3 to engage supersonic fighter jets with pinpoint accuracy, delivering a high-explosive warhead on the target.
Induction of ASRAAM becomes critical, as India’s adversaries, China and Pakistan, both field comparable air-to-air missiles. The ASRAAM’s larger rocket motor enjoys a greater range and better performance than the Chinese and Pakistani aircraft have.
China’s J-10C, J-16, and J-20 fighter jets are equipped with the PL-10 missile, with up to 30 km range, which entered service in 2015. Pakistan’s JF-17 Block III has the export variant PL-10E.
India’s MiG-29s, capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, are tasked to maintain air superiority against Pakistan and China. The aircraft was part of the IAF’s missions against Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh flew a MiG-29 on March 12 to assess its operational readiness, and the integration of the ASRAAMs on the aircraft would provide it with a modern short-range engagement capability to strengthen the air force’s mission superiority against threats from both adversarial nations.
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