India’s potent supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was test-fired at 10.18 am from Odisha’s Chandipur range launch pad on Monday.
The test-firing was done from an Integrated Test Range (ITR) and was conducted to increase the longevity of the missile. The successful test was conducted under extreme conditions and under heavy rain in Odisha.
BrahMos, a joint venture between India and Russia, is the only supersonic cruise missile in the world which can be fired from land, sea and air.
The cruise missile is in service with the Indian Army and the Indian Navy. The Indian Air Force is seeking to induct air-launched BrahMos. Previous tests using a modified Sukhoi Su30MKI have been successful.
Chief of BrahMos Aerospace, Sudhir Kumar Mishra, had earlier told PTI about the test-firing for the validation of service life extension of the BrahMos.
BrahMos, the world’s fastest cruise missile, is the first Indian missile whose life has been extended from 10 to 15 years.
India had in March successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile fitted with an indigenously developed seeker.
The missile flew along the designated trajectory and hit the target with pinpoint accuracy after it was fired from Pokharan test range in Rajasthan at 8.42 am on 22 March with the Indian seeker.
The seeker, a product that boosts the government’s ‘Make in India’ plan in defence, enables other Indian missiles to replace their existing foreign-made seekers.
Currently, BrahMos uses Russian-made seekers to accurately hit the target.
Read More: India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with Indian seeker
While the Indian Army has been operating the BrahMos since 2007, the Indian Navy has BrahMos installed on the leading classes of its destroyers and frigates.
Work on increasing the speed of the BrahMos from Mach 3.0 to Mach 5.0 is underway as also its range from the current 450 km to 600 km.