NEW DELH, Dec 29: The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday successfully fired the Extended Range (ER) version of BrahMos air-launched supersonic cruise missile against a ship target from a SU-30MKI fighter aircraft. The extended range of the BrahMos missile is believed to have the ability to take out targets in sea 400 km away.
“The supersonic cruise missile achieved the desired mission objectives in the Bay of Bengal region. With this, IAF has achieved a significant capability boost to carry out precision strikes from SU-30MKI aircraft against land/sea targets over very long ranges,” the IAF said in a statement. The extended range capability of the missile coupled with the high performance of the SU-30MKI aircraft gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate the future battle fields, the IAF added.
The current air-launched missile weighs 2.65 tonnes, which will come down to 1.33 tonnes with the BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) that is under development. With this a SU-30MKI will be able to carry up to four BrahMos-NG missiles, while the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will be able to carry two missiles.
The successful test firing was a joint effort by the Air Force, Indian Navy, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the BrahMos Aerospace (BAPL). In May this year, the extended-range version of the supersonic missile was successfully tested from the Sukhoi fighter. The extended range was reported to have increased to 350 km from 290 km. The successful test conducted in May was the first instance in which the missile was test fired from the Su-30MKI fighter jet.
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile has a two-stage solid propellant booster engine as its first stage which takes it to supersonic speed. The second stage is the liquid ramjet engine which takes it closer to Mach 3 (3 times the speed of sound) speed in the cruise phase.
BrahMos is a joint venture between the DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and the missile derives its name from Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. The missile is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets and has been long inducted by the Indian armed forces.
The range of the missile was originally capped at 290 kms as per obligations of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Following India’s entry into the club in June 2016, DRDO officials had stated that the range would be extended to 450 km and to 600 km at a later stage. The ER version has been tested several times both by the Navy and IAF. The missile works on the ‘Fire and Forget principle’ and maintains a high supersonic throughout the flight. The missile is said to have a low radar signature.
(Manas Dasgupta)