India test-fires supersonic missile

DHAKA: India Sunday successfully test fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range at Chandipur off Odisha coast.

The missile, which has a flight range of up to 290 km, is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg, reports NDTV.

‘The cruise missile was test fired from a ground mobile launcher from the launch complex-3 at about 1030 hours and all data is being retrieved for analysis,’ defence sources said.

The cruise missile, a surface-to-surface Army version, was test fired as part of user trial by the Army, they said.

The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has already been inducted into the Army and Navy, and the Air-Force version is in final stage of trial, a defence official said.

While induction of the first version of Brahmos missile system in the Indian Navy commenced from 2005 with INS Rajput, it is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army.

The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress, he said.

The Army has so far placed orders for the Brahmos missile to be deployed by three regiments of the Army and two of them have already been inducted operationally.

The Defence Ministry has also given a go-ahead to Army to induct a third regiment equipped with the missile system to be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh along the China border.

Brahmos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture company headed by a distinguished Indian defence scientist, is also working to develop the air as well as the submarine launch version of the missile system and work on the project is in progress.

The last trial was conducted on March 28, 2012 from the same base and it was successful.

BDST: 1627 HRS, JUL 29, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor