India’s BrahMos Missile, ‘World’s Fastest’, Attracts Global Interest
The BrahMos is a short-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) who have together formed BrahMos Aerospace. It is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile and other similar sea-skimming Russian cruise missile technology. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
Brahomos-A weighs 2.55-ton or 5,600-lb making it the heaviest ALCM known to mankind! The Russian Kh-101/-102 (conventional and nuclear versions respectively) ALCM, carried by Russian Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers. is the current heaviest ALCM with a launch weight estimated at 5,300 lb. The Kh-101 has a range of 2000-3000 km (6,000 miles according to Russian media!) and features a 880-lb / 400-kg warhead,
‘World’s Fastest’, Attracts Global Interest
The agreement between India and Russia for development of the advanced BrahMos system allows the use of the missile in both countries’ armed forces and export to other friendly countries. Owing to this, countries from Latin America and southeast Asia have expressed their interest for the missile system.
A new and advanced version of BrahMos is being developed. It will be equipped with a compact engine that can reach speed of Mach 3.3. Having range of 300 km, the missile will have capacity to carry a payload of 300 kg. With weight of 1.4-1.6 tonne and length of 6 metre, the BrahMos-NG (next generation) will be a breakthrough, meeting requirements of both the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.
BrahMos, world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile developed jointly by India & Russia, has caught the attention of a number of countries who want to buy it. It has been developed at a low budget of $300 million. However, a lack of clarity in the defence exports policy means that it has not yet been sold. India’s eagerness to export homemade items has been more pronounced after the ‘Make in India’ call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also pitches for export of defence items to friendly countries. We take a look at some interesting facts about the BrahMos missile.
BrahMos is a short-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
The missile has a range of 290 km, has a maximum velocity of 2.8 Mach and cruises at altitudes varying from 10 metres to 15 km, claims BrahMos. It can be launched in either inclined or vertical configuration based on the type of the ship.
The land-attack version of BrahMos is fitted on an mobile autonomous launcher. The mobile land-based configuration of has achieved several advancements over the years in the form of Block I, Block II and Block III variants.
BrahMos is also capable of being launched from submarine from a depth of 40-50 metres. In 2013, it was successfully launched from a submerged platform.
BrahMos air-launched version is getting ready to be soon be test-flown from the Su-30MKI fighter of the IAF.
It is the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation.
1. BrahMos is the world’s fastest cruise missile with a strike-range of over 290 kms.
2. As the prime strike weapon, BrahMos will engage naval surface targets at long ranges, thus making the destroyer warship another lethal platform of Indian Navy.
3. BrahMos missile having supersonic speed of Mach 2.8, a very low-cruising altitude of 10 metres at terminal phase and pin-point accuracy is one of the deadliest in the Indian Navy fleet.
4. The two-stage BrahMos missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia. It has been in service with the Indian Navy since 2005
5. This launch was the 49th test-firing of the BrahMos missile.
