BHUBANESWAR: Amid concern over presence of three Chinese warships, a submarine and a research vessel in the Indian Ocean region, India on Wednesday successfully test fired extended range cruise missile BrahMos from a warship in Bay of Bengal.
The supersonic missile, fired from an indigenously-built stealth destroyer by the eastern fleet achieved precision hit paving the way for its induction into the Indian Navy. Defence sources said tested as part of pre-induction trial, the missile having an extended strike range hit the target successfully with pin-point accuracy after performing high-level and extremely complex manoeuvres.
Developed as part of an Indo-Russian joint venture, BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine and second stage liquid ramjet that takes the missile closer to Mach 3 speed in cruise phase.
The strike range of the nine-metre-long missile has been extended from 290 km to 450 km plus after India’s full membership to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) that removed caps on the range of BrahMos cruise missile.
“An Indian Navy destroyer of the eastern fleet carried out successful firing of BrahMos missile in the Bay of Bengal. The missile has achieved all mission objectives,” the Navy said in a statement.BrahMos to be used as a prime strike weapon will ensure the warship’s invincibility by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges, thus making the destroyer another lethal platform of the Indian Navy.
This was the third test of the missile in three weeks. On October 18, Indian Air Force (IAF) had successfully test fired the air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in the Bay of Bengal, marking a significant victory for indigenous combat systems.
The air-launched BrahMos missile was test-fired from Su-30MKI fighter jet, which has been equipped to launch the cruise missile. Earlier, a similar user trial of the land attack variant of the missile system by the IAF was excellent.
On March 30, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) inked a contract with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited for procurement of next generation maritime mobile coastal batteries and BrahMos missiles at an approximate cost of over `1,700 crore. The delivery of the systems is expected to commence from 2027.