In the midst of India’s bitter border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired an air launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft, belonging to Thanjavur-based Tigersharks squadron, in the Bay of Bengal on October 30, 2020. The missile hit a sinking ship with deadly accuracy and the test-firing produced desired results. Taking off from a frontline airbase in Punjab, the jet travelled for over three hours and released the missile after getting refuelled mid-air.

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India-China Border Standoff

Bilateral relations between India and China have been worsening over the past few months with both the countries facing stand off against each other along their disputed border in the Himalayan region. The root cause of the dispute is an ill-defined, 3,440km-long border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Both sides see this border area as strategically important as both of them have fought one war in 1962, when India suffered defeat. That’s why both the countries are competing in building infrastructure along the border. India has constructed a new road to a high-altitude air base, which is being regarded as one of the main triggers for a clash between the two troops, leading to the martyrdom of some Indian soldiers in June, 2020.

BrahMos, named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia, and developed by BrahMos Aerospace is a supersonic cruise missile—a joint venture between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and NPO Mashinostroeyenia (NPOM) of Russia. It has a flight range of up to 290km and can reach a maximum speed of Mach 3, and can be launched against ships and land-based targets. It provides the IAF a much-desired capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with exact accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions.

It is also being integrating on more than 40 Sukhoi fighter jets, aimed at bolstering overall combat capability of the air force. India has also test-fired an anti-radiation missile, called Rudram-1.

Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter jet is built in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under licence agreement with Russia’s Sukhoi. The Sukhoi Su-30MKI has a top speed of Mach 2 (2120 kmph) and has a maximum take-off weight of 38,800 kg, and is capable of carrying a wide range of equipment—radars, missiles, bombs, and event rockets, etc.

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Courtesy: ndtv.com, bbc.com, army-technology.com, zeenews.india.com

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