The Supersonic Cruise Missile now makes the survival of target impossible!
DRDO has successfully test-fired supersonic cruise missile under extreme weather conditions, as part of the service life extension programme for India.
- The missile was fired from a mobile autonomous launcher from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore, Odisha.
Facts related to the test:
- During the test, the missile followed the designated trajectory and its key components functioned perfectly.
- It again proved its all-weather capability, flying in sea state 7, with waves as high as nine metres.
- Sea state is the degree of turbulence at sea, generally measured on a scale of 0 to 9 according to average wave height.
- The test was conducted on the heels of earlier two trials conducted on May 21 and 22, 2018 in which the major sub-systems manufactured indigenously under the ‘Make in India’ campaign were successfully tested to increase missile’s life from 10 to 15 years.
About The BrahMos Missile:
- BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint-venture between Russia’s Mashinostroyenia and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
- It has been named after two rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva (a river in western Russia).
- The missile has established itself as a major force multiplier in modern-day complex battlefields with its impeccable land-attack, anti-ship capabilities with multi-role and multi-platform abilities.
Stages involved in its functioning:
- It is a two-stage missile, the first one being Solid and the second one being Ramjet Liquid Propellant.
- It is a self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through an aerodynamic lift.
- Payload:
- It is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kilograms (both conventional as well as nuclear).
Accuracy:
- It operates on ‘fire and forgets principal’.
- It is claimed that the missile has strike accuracy rate of 99.99%.
- It has enhanced destructive power due to large kinetic energy (because of supersonic speed) on impact.
- It has a unique feature of quicker engagement time and non-interception by any known weapon system in the world.
Speed:
- It has a top supersonic speed of Mach 2.8 to 3 (roughly three times speed of sound).
- It is hailed as world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation.
Range:
- It was initially capped at 290 km as per obligations of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
- Since India’s entry into this elite club, its range was extended to 450 km and plan is to increase it to 600km.
Launch Variants:
- It is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land targets.
- It follows a variety of trajectories like high, high-low, low, surface-skim etc.
- It can cruise at an altitude up to 15km and terminal altitude of as low as 10 meters.
Induction:
- It has been already inducted in the Indian Army and Navy.
- The air-launched version of the missile was test-fired in November 2017, for the first time from a modified Su-30MKI aircraft, making it world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile to be fired from a combat jet against a target.
