Air- and Sea-Launched Variants Also Recently Tested Separately
India has test-fired an improved variant of the ground-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, featuring enhanced capabilities and increased indigenous content, according to the MoD. The test was carried out by the Indo-Russian Brahmos Aerospace company on 20 January from the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) integrated test range in Chandipur.
The missile was tested out to its maximum range and “followed a modified optimal trajectory for enhanced efficiency and improved performance,” meeting all mission objectives, noted the MoD, adding that the weapon’s “modified” control system was “fine-tuned to achieve an enhanced capability”. The MoD, which described the test as a major milestone, said BrahMos Aerospace has been continuously upgrading the missile to increase its effectiveness and lethality against sea and land targets, but provided no further details regarding improved capabilities or new indigenous content.
The latest development comes after the Indian Navy test-fired on 11 January an extended-range variant of the ship-launched BrahMos meant for deployment on the service’s frontline warships. The missile was tested from the recently commissioned Project 15B guided-missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam, with the DRDO noting that the “advanced sea-to-sea variant […] hit the designated target ship precisely”. No further details were provided on test or weapon, including its new maximum range. Until recently all variants of the missile were reported to have a range of 290km and carry a warhead weighing between 200-300 kilograms.
On 8 December, the Indian Air Force tested the BrahMos-A air-launched version from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI, clearing the variant for mass production.
The original BrahMos missile is based on the Yakhont supersonic cruise missile, which is the export version of the Russian domestic P-800 (3M55) Oniks missile. While the original BrahMos retains much of the Russian missile’s aerodynamic design and manufactured components, it uses a number of Indian-made systems.
Click here to link to a Twitter video of the launch event
Gabriel Dominguez for MON
