New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) said Wednesday it has successfully test fired the aerial version of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.
The 2.5 tonne air-to-surface missile has a range of around 300km, and it will significantly enhance the IAF’s combat capability, military officials said. The BrahMos cruise missile travels at a speed of Mach 2.8, nearly three times that of sound.
“The launch from the aircraft was smooth and the missile followed the desired trajectory before directly hitting the land target,” IAF spokesperson Group Capt Anupam Banerjee said.
The IAF became the first air force in the world to have successfully fired an air-launched 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category on a sea target November 22, 2017.
“Today’s was the second such live launch of the weapon. The integration of the weapon on the aircraft was a very complex process involving mechanical, electrical and software modifications on aircraft,” Banerjee pointed out.
It said the software development of the aircraft was undertaken by the IAF engineers, while the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) carried out mechanical and electrical modifications on it.
It informed that the BrahMos missile provides the IAF a much desired capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions.
“The capability of the missile coupled with the superlative performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft gives the IAF the desired strategic reach,” the IAF said in a statement.
‘BrahMos Aerospace’, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.
PTI
