India to test-fire BrahMos missile from Su-30 fighter jets this week

Preparations are in full swing for the first test firing of the air version of the BhraMos missile, touted as the world's deadliest supersonic cruise missile system, this week.

The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which travels almost three times faster than sound at Mach 2.8, will be air launched from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet as a test-firing exercise, reports Times of India.

The designated target will be a ship somewhere in the Bay of Bengal and the missile would be fired from a height of some 7000 meters-9000 meters, Alexander Maksichev disclosed at the Dubai Airshow, adding that preparations are in full swing for the first-ever firing of the cruise missile from the aircraft.

"Some 20-30 hours of flying with the 2.5 ton missile strapped to the aircraft's underbelly besides a number of drop tests in varying conditions have been accomplished," Brahmos joint managing director, he said.

The successful launch of the missile will also make BrahMos the first cruise weapon system in the world to have such capability of being fired from all three platforms: land, sea and air, according to the report.

According to sources, the air-to-ground sleek BrahMos missiles can be used for pinpoint strikes on terror camps located deep inside enemy territory or to take out underground nuclear bunkers.

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)