BHUBANESWAR: India on Tuesday tasted twin success with supersonic cruise missile BrahMos in a coordinated exercise for the first time.
The Army conducted a test of upgraded land-attack variant of the missile and Air Force test-fired the cruise weapon from Sukhoi-30 MKI off Odisha coast.
While the success of air-launch version of BrahMos paved the way for its early induction in the Air Force, land version, already in service, was flight-tested with indigenous seeker as part of operational user training exercise.
The land variant with Indian propulsion system, airframe and many other major subsystems was successfully test fired at 8.30 am from the launch complex III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) and the air-force version fired in the afternoon.
The missiles were fired against two separate sea targets, decommissioned ships.
During the launch, the missile was gravity dropped from the air combat platform’s fuselage and the two-stage weapon’s engine fired up and straightaway propelled towards the intended target positioned at the sea piercing the same with pinpoint accuracy.
The test, conducted in user configuration, revalidated the ship attack capability of the advanced air-launched cruise missile.
A defence official said both the variants were flight-tested as part of a coordinated exercise for the first time.
“Sukhoi-30 MKI integrated with the missile took off from Kalaikunda Air Force base in West Bengal and fired against the target in the Bay of Bengal. It was third live launch of the BrahMos air version and achieved a huge success. With the indigenous content the formidable weapon has bolstered indigenisation,” he said.
After this test, the IAF has a world record of direct hits on targets in all its launches from air against sea and land targets establishing itself as the prime user of the most powerful conventional airborne weapon.
Jointly developed by India and Russia, the 8.4-metre BrahMos missile, fastest in the world, can carry warheads up to 300 kg. Having devastating power at supersonic speed of Mach 2.8, it is capable of delivering the warhead 290 km away with high-precision.
With a lighter propulsion system, improved nose cone and enhanced aero-dynamic structure, BrahMos missile promises to immensely bolster the IAF’s air combat capability from long-distance stand-off ranges and become the ultimate ‘game-changer’.
It has outclassed any other weapon in its genre in terms of speed, accuracy and versatility for the incredible stealth and destructive capabilities against land and sea targets.“The second air launch of the missile was a hit on May 22.
Consecutive successes this year proved that integration of the missile with the combat aircraft has been robust with the synergetic efforts of the IAF, DRDO, BrahMos aerospace and HAL,” the official added.