The missile on display at Aero India at Yelahanka
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was flight tested from Rajasthan’s Pokhran test range on 22 March 2018. The supersonic cruise missile and the seeker have been developed jointly by DRDO and BrahMos Aerospace. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted to say “The precision strike weapon with Indian-made seeker flew in its designated trajectory and hit the target with pin-point accuracy.” She congratulated the DRDO and added, “The successful test will further bolster our national security.”
The precision strike weapon with indigenous seeker flew in its designated trajectory and hit the pre-set target. The flight test was conducted by the scientists of DRDO and BrahMos along with the Indian Army. A high level team led by Chairman DRDO & S e c r e t a r y DDR&D Dr S Christopher was present during the flight trial, which included DG (Missiles & Strategic Systems) & SA to RM Dr G Satheesh Reddy and Director General BrahMos Dr Sudhir Mishra. Programme Director Dr Dashrath Ram and Project Director V Prameela who had led the effort for development of the indigenous seeker were also part of the team. Senior IAF officials also witnessed the successful launch of the tactical weapon.
The missile flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8 and has a range of 290 km. The range of the BrahMos missile, an Indo-Russia joint venture, can be extended up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime or MTCR in 2016. Work is underway to integrate the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft which is expected to fulfil critical needs of the Indian Air Force in the wake of evolving security dynamics in the region.
Model of the air
launched version of BrahMos on the Su-30MKI
The BrahMos has been inducted into the Navy and Army
from 2006 onwards, but this version is more versatile because unlike warships,
which are slow-movers, a fast-moving Sukhoi-30 fighter can travel at least
1,500 km towards a target before the missile itself is fired. The missile then
flies another 400 km to take out a target. The combination of the Su-30 and
BrahMos means that the Indian Air Force can deliver a ‘knock-out punch’ in
minutes, far quicker than a warship which may need to sail in the direction of
a target out at sea. The air-launched variant of the BrahMos, the world’s
fastest supersonic cruise missile, was successfully test fired from a Sukhoi-30
combat jet on 22 November 2017, marking a major milestone to enhance the
precision strike capability of the air force. The project is expected to be
completed by 2020.
The fleet of 40 Sukhoi jets will undergo structural
modifications at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd or HAL for integration of the
missile on them and the BrahMos missile will be the heaviest weapon to be
deployed on India’s Su-30 fighter aircraft. Once the project to integrate the
weapon on the combat fleet was over, the capability of the Indian Air Force to
strike from large stand-off ranges on any target in sea or land is expected to
go up manifold.