India test-fires missile from Sukhoi fighter Jet

[GS Paper 3 – Defence]

Context – India test-fires BrahMos Extended-Range Missile from Sukhoi fighter Jet.

An extended range version of the BrahMos supersonic missile was successfully test-fired from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.

Key Developments

• Brahmos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.
• The range of the advanced version of the missile is learned to have been extended to around 350 km from the original 290 km. The range of the missile was originally capped at 290 km as per obligations of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
• This was the first instance of the extended-range version of the missile being fired from a SU-30 MKI aircraft.
• The extended-range capability of the missile coupled with the high performance of the Su-30 MKI aircraft gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate future battlefields.
• The launch from the aircraft was as planned and the missile achieved a direct hit on the designated target in the Bay of Bengal region.
• The IAF, the Navy, the Defence Research and Development Organization, the Hindustan Aerospace Limited (HAL), and the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited were involved in the test firing.

About BrahMos

• The BrahMos missiles are a series of supersonic cruise missiles. It is a two-stage (solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in second) missile.
• It operates on the “Fire and Forgets” principle i.e it does not require further guidance after launch.
• It includes the following features:

1. Indian propulsion system
2. Airframe
3. Power supply

• It is a joint venture between the DRDO and the NPOM of Russia and is named after the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• It is a multiplatform missile i.e it can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missile with pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions.

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