Supersonic BrahMos missile test fired from ITR

Balasore (Orissa), Apr 22: BrahMos, a supersonic cruise missile, developed under an Indo-Russian joint venture project, was today successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range(ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea, about 15 km from here.

The Army version of the missile, with a range of 290 km, operating on the principle of fire, with a capacity of carrying a conventional warhead up to 200 kg, was test fired from the ITR launch complex at 1120 hrs.

The 9-m long missile could be carried aboard a ship or a submarine with some modification.

The missile could fly up to a height of 14 km at twice the speed of sound when fired from a ship.

Charged by a solid propellant and a preset trajectory, it could change its course to strike 20 km from the target.

ITR sources said this would the 10th BrahMos missile test fired.

The last BrahMos was test fired on February 4, 2007.

The missile, ITR sources said, has a diameter of 670 mm, weighing about three tonne and could fly at near surface level but that shortens its range to 120 km. The first missile was first test fired on June 12, 2001. The name of the missile is derived from the Brahmaputra river and the Russian capital Moscow.

The missile could fly at zero level.

The first ship-borne test of BrahMos, was conducted in February 2003 after a couple of tests at the Integrated Test Range (ITR).

The two countries had planned to induct BrahMos into their armed forces after launching commercial production.

Sources said BrahMos, which could be launched from land, sea, sub-sea or air-based platforms, was likely to be configured to be launched from the newly inducted Sukhoi 30 MKI fighters in the IAF.

The test carried out in the user-deployment configuration achieved hall the mission objectives. The missile followed a predetermined trajectory at a very low altitude impacting with precision on the designated land target, sources said. The flight trial was witnessed by the officials of the Defence Research Development Organisation(DRDO), Integrated Test Range(ITR) and scientists from Russia.

BrahMos was currently one of the few supersonic cruise missiles in the world and the missile system had already been accepted by the Indian Navy with advance Fire Control System for its warships.

Work was also progressing satisfactorily on the SU-30MKI version.

The missile was under development as a joint venture between the Defence Research&Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) (Russia) under BrahMos Aerospace.

The missile took off and landed 290 km away in the Bay of Bengal.

Today's launch was to prove that the missile was suitable for launching attacks on targets located both on land and at sea.

It could cruise at a speed of three Mach at altitude of 15 km and could be launched from a variety of platforms-fixed and mobile platforms on land, surface ships, submarines and aircraft.

Brahmos is the first and only supersonic cruise missile that uses liquid ''ramjet'' technology.

A two-staged vehicle, its propulsion consisted of a solid propellant booster and a liquid propellant ''ramjet'' system, sources said.

UNI