BHUBANESWAR - India on Sunday successfully tested a surface-to-surface version of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile developed jointly with Russia, official sources said. The missile was fired from a mobile launcher from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea, 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast of eastern Orissa state capital Bhubaneswar, official sources said. “Sunday’s test was just routine. A user trial,” a defence official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The missile was last successfully tested on February 4.
First tested in June 2001, the missile named after IndiaÂ’s Brahmaputra River and RussiaÂ’s Moskva River has a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles) and can carry a 300-kilogram (660 pound) conventional warhead. The eight-metre (26-foot) missile weighs about three metric tonnes and can be launched from land, ships, submarines or aircraft, traveling at a speed of up to Mach 2.8.
The Indian army is set to start deploying the missile this year, the CEO of its manufacturer BrahMos Aerospace A. Sivathanu Pillai said last month. A version of the BrahMos is already used by the Indian navy.
Defence sources said India and Russia are now working towards developing a hypersonic missile, a more advanced version of the BrahMos. |