BRAHMOS missiles successfully test-fired from land and air platforms

BALASORE, ODISHA: India on Tuesday successfully conducted two separate trials of supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS, one each from land and air platforms near here, to check its capability to hit targets with precision and accuracy.

The trials were carried out jointly by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Air Force (IAF) and BrahMos Aerospace, defence soures said.

While a land-attack version of the missile was test- launched from Launch Pad-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur at around in the morning, an Air Force variant of BRAHMOS was fired from an IAF fighter jet Su-30MKI over Bay of Bengal near here in the afternoon, they said.

"The first missile launch was from a land-based mobile launcher (MAL), where most of the components were indigenous, including the missile airframe, fuel management system and DRDO designed seeker," a defence statement said.

"The second launch of the missile was carried out by IAF from SU-30MKI platform against a sea target. The test conducted in user configuration, revalidated the ship attack capability of the advanced air-launched cruise missile, it said.

During the test, the missile was launched from the air combat platform's fuselage and the two-stage weapons engine fired up and the missile straightaway propelled towards the intended target positioned at the sea, piercing it with "pin point" accuracy, the statement said.

The twin trials, carried out to check the capability of the armed forces to hit targets with pin-point accuracy, were successful, meeting all the parameters, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) source said.

Earlier on May 22, 2019, IAF had successfully tested the missile against a land-based target in the Car Nicobar Islands region. The BRAHMOS Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) promises to bolster the air combat capability of IAF from stand-off ranges, the defence statement said.

Secretary, Department of Defence R & D and Chairman, DRDO, Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the DRDO, BrahMos and Air Force teams for the successful tests.

Director General BrahMos Dr Sudhir Mishra, Defence Research & Development Laboratory Director Dr Dashrath Ram, and Director Integrated Test Range Dr Binoy Kumar Das were present during the trials, it said.

The deadly BRAHMOS missile is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from submarines, warships, fighter jets or land. The 2.5-tonne missile has a strike range of nearly 300 km.

However, the first extended version of the missile with a strike range of 450 km was successfully tested on March 11, 2017, Defence sources said.

A shorter range land-attack version of the BRAHMOS was successfully test-fired from the ITR at Chandipur on September 30, 2019, they said.

BrahMos is a joint venture between India's DRDO and NPOM of Russia.

The missile is operational with the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

The BRAHMOS is regarded as the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world, the sources said.

It has established itself as a major force multiplier in modern warfare with its land-attack and anti-ship capabilities along with multi-role and multi-platform abilities, they added.