Army test-fires BRAHMOS land-attack missile for 2nd day

NEW DELHI: For the second consecutive day, the Indian Army on Wednesday successfully test fired an advanced version of the BRAHMOS land-attack cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The test firing was carried out by the Army's elite 'Strike One Corps' in full operational land-to-land configurations at its full-range, the Army said.

"This is the fifth consecutive time when the Block-III version of BRAHMOS LACM (land attack cruise missile) has been successfully launched and hit the land-based target in 'top- attack' mode, an incredible feat not achieved by any other weapon system of its genre," the Army said in a statement.

The test-firing came amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan following beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani military.

The long-range tactical weapon was tested from the same location which was used in Tuesday's test firing.

The army said the multi-role missile "successfully hit" the land-based target with desired precision, demonstrating its accuracy of less than one metre.

"These successful firings of the supersonic cruise missile were carried out in full operational land-to-land configurations from Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL) at its full-range," the Army said.

The Indian Army, which became the first land force in the world to deploy the BRAHMOS in 2007, has raised several regiments of this formidable weapon.

Jointly developed by India and Russia, the multi-platform BRAHMOS is capable of being launched from land, sea and air against surface and sea-based targets.