Speed, power and precision

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army recently announced the induction of the latest version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile after test-firing it at Pokharan, Rajasthan successfully. The missile, named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers in India and Russia respectively, is a proud symbol of the combined efforts of Indian and Russian scientists. Produced by the joint venture company — BrahMos Aerospace, DRDO (India) and NPO Mashinostroyenia (Russia) as well as a group of Indian and Russian industries, the missile can fly at 2.8 times the speed of sound.

With the Taliban gaining ground and considering the mounting threats to India’s sovereignty, a lot of hopes are riding on the BrahMos.

A closer look

A two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster and liquid propellant ram jet system that gives it a 00 km range, the BrahMos with its Mach 2.5-2.8 speed, is one of the world’s fastest cruise missiles — about three and a half times faster than the American subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. This 290 km range missile, carrying a 300 kg conventional warhead, can effectively engage ground targets from an altitude as low as 10 metres.

Essentially being developed as an anti-ship missile, the BrahMos can also be configured for land-based targets. The anti-ship naval version of BrahMos has been integrated on the destroyer INS Rajput. In its recent test-fire it included a new sensor to help it distinguish between similar kinds of targets in urban areas.

The BrahMos’ system is superior due to its speed, its modular design (that allows modifications for launch from virtually any platform: air-to-ground, ship-to-ground, submarine-to-ground and ground-to-ground) and price (much more affordable).

Plans ahead

The Indian Air Force is expected to have airborne anti-ship and land attack variants of the BrahMos operational by 2012 with trials being conducted during 2011. Hypersonic cruise missiles with speeds of Mach 5 to Mach 7 are also being worked on. There are also plans to develop submarine-launched versions. India has already developed a submarine-launched supersonic missile, a modification of the BrahMos cruise missile, a technology confined to nations such as the United States, France and Russia. With all these features, defence analysts anticipate that the BrahMos will become one of India’s major contributions to the world arms export market in the coming years.

Now, this is what one calls a fully-loaded weapon!