WATCH: India test-fires 'improved' BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

New Delhi, Jan 21: India on Friday successfully tested a new improved version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the integrated test range at Chandipur off the coast of Odisha, the defence ministry said in a statement.

 

The launch was conducted by BrahMos Aerospace and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). According to the ministry statement, this variant of the missile was equipped with more indigenous technologies than the previous ones. In this trial, the missile followed the predicted trajectory meeting all mission objectives.

 

 

"The flight test is a major milestone for BrahMos program. The highly maneuverable missile cruised at supersonic speed for its maximum range and all mission objectives were met," the statement said. The BrahMos missile, an Indo-Russian joint venture, has a range of 290 km and is the fastest cruise missile in the world with a top speed of Mach 2.8 (nearly three times the speed of sound).

 

 

 

"The missile was equipped with advanced indigenous technologies and followed a modified optimal trajectory for enhanced efficiency and improved performance. The missile with the modified control system has been fine tuned to achieve enhanced capability,” the statement added. This flight test was monitored by all the sensors of the range instrumentation including telemetry, radar and electro-optical tracking systems deployed across the eastern coast and the down range ships.

 

 

The ministry informed that the teams from DRDO and NPOM of Russia participated in the test. BrahMos Aerospace, the joint venture between DRDO and NPOM, Russia, has been continuously upgrading the powerful, highly versatile BrahMos to increase its effectiveness and lethality against sea and land targets. BrahMos is the potent missile weapon system already inducted into the Armed Forces.

 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented the Brahmos, DRDO teams and industry for the successful flight test.

 

India has already developed an extended range BrahMos missile that can hit targets at a range of more than 400 km by tweaking the configuration of the existing weapon. Increasing the missile’s range became possible after India’s induction into the missile technology control regime in June 2016. India is also laying the groundwork to develop a high-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, capable of striking targets more than 800 km away.

 

 

BrahMos has been in the limelight for quite a while after the Philippines confirmed it will acquire three batteries of the missile in a deal worth almost $375 million, a development expected to boost India’s efforts to become a major exporter of defence hardware.