India successfully test-fired the extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile off the coast of Odisha’s Balasore on September 30, 2020. The test was conducted under the PJ-10 project of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the missile was launched with an indigenous booster. Originally built with a range of 290 kilometres, its range was extended to over 400 kilometres as part of the capability enhancement. As per an estimate, the supersonic cruise missile can now hit targets at a range of up to 450 kms.
This is the first missile known to be in service, whose first version was inducted in the Indian Navy in 2005 with INS Rajput as the first ship. All future ships being built and ships coming for mid-life up-gradation will also be fitted with the missile. Three more regiments of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile have also been inducted.
The BrahMos (the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia) is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile and is the fastest missile in the world, developed in collaboration with the Russian Federation’s NPO ashinostroyeniya and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile and other similar sea-skimming Russian cruise missile technology.
BrahMos is the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation. Two of its versions—the land-launched and ship-launched—are already in service. The air-launched version appeared in 2012 and entered service in 2019. Now, the next variant is hypersonic, known as, BrahMos-II, which is also currently under development with a speed of Mach 7-8 to boost aerial fast strike capability, and will probably be ready for testing by 2020.
India’s BrahMos is a mid-range cruise missile like the P-700 Granit, whose propulsion is based on the Russian missile, which reached around a total of US$13 billion.
In 2016, India became a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Therefore, India and Russia are jointly working to develop a new generation of BrahMos missiles with 600 km-plus range and an ability to hit protected targets with pinpoint accuracy. In 2019, India upgraded the missile with a new range of 500 km.
Courtesy: India Today