India achieved another milestone in its defence programme bysuccessfully test firing the submarine-launched version of BrahMos supersoniccruise missile for the first time from a submerged platform off theVisakhapatnam coast on Wednesday.
Defence sources said the missile in its full operationalconfiguration was launched from a pontoon (replica of a submarine) positionednearly 30 feet deep in Bay of Bengal at about 2.10 pm.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director ofBrahMos Aerospace Private Limited A Sivathanu Pillai said the missile took offvertically from the submerged platform for its full range of 290 kms and hitthe target with high accuracy.
“It was a history for us as the mission achieved 100 percentsuccess. All mission parameters have been successfully met and it was a copybook lunch,” Pillai told ‘The New Indian Express’ over phone.
This is the first time that a supersonic cruise missile islaunched vertically from a submerged platform in the world. The success howevercame a week after the unsuccessful trial of India’s first sub-sonic cruisemissile Nirbhay, which had veered from its path and was destroyed mid-way.
A release from the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited statedthat the missile emerged from underwater, took a turn towards the designatedtarget and followed a pre-defined trajectory meeting all mission objectives.All the telemetry and tracking stations, including Indian naval shipspositioned throughout the flight path, confirmed the pin-point accuracy of themission.
“The missile is fully ready for fitment in P75 (I) of IndianNavy in vertical launch configuration which will make the platform one of themost powerful weapon platform in the world,” claimed Pillai.
Jointly developed by India and Russia, the nine-meter longmissile can travel at thrice the speed of sound and carry a conventionalwarhead weighing upto 300 kg. The land and naval variants of BrahMos missilehave already proved their mettle in both vertical and inclined launch configurations.The missile has been successfully inducted in a numberof front-line Indian Navy warships and will be deployed in otherfuture surface ships.
Defence scientists said the missile was capable of beinglaunched from submarine from a depth of 40-50 meters. Integrated verticallywith a modular launcher in the pressure hull of the submarine, the missile hasidentical configuration similar to its ship based system.
The submarines equipped with BrahMos missiles would increasethe offensive power of the vessel without compromising on its defensive poweras the torpedo tubes in it can be utilized for defence, the scientists added.
Defence Minister A K Antony has congratulated Indianscientists, Russian specialists and members from Indian Navy associated withthe project for the successful mission.