Air-launch BrahMos Cruise Missile Ready for Tests

A modified version of the supersonic BrahMos missile for use by aircraft is ready for tests.
Once the tests are completed, the missile will be inducted in the Indian Air Force. The missile has been already inducted in the Army and Navy.

Speaking to reporters at Kalasalingam University here, BrahMos Aerospace CEO and MD A. Sivathanu Pillai said the missile has been successfully modified for launch from fighter aircraft and fighter-bombers.

"The weight of the missile has been reduced by 500 kg to 2,500 kg for the air-launch variant," he said.

The land and sea launch versions weigh 3,000 kg.

Though the weight has been reduced, the air-launch version remains as deadly as its land- and sea-launched counterparts, Mr Pillai said, adding that trials for the air launch version of BrahMos would be conducted in 2012 and it is expected to be inducted in the Indian Air Force by 2013.

Noting that Sukhoi-30 is currently India’s main strike fighter and the ideal platform for the air-launched missile, he said this version of the BrahMos had been made to be fitted on the aircraft.

Mr Pillai said modifications will have to be made to be made to the Sukhoi-30s too to integrate the air launch version of BrahMos on the fighter.

"The Sukhoi-30 is currently being modified in Russia to allow it to carry the BrahMos,” he said.

Mr Pillai exuded confidence that like the air-launch version of BrahMos, modifications in the Sukhoi-30, the interface and firing controls will also be developed successfully. If all goes well, the missile will be inducted in the IAF by 2013.

On the trials, which are scheduled in 2012, Mr Pillai said that first the missile would be fired without any explosives and then with a bomb load.

Asked about the unique 90º manoeuvrability of the BrahMos after takeoff, he said much effort had been taken to achieve the technique so the missile’s trajectory would be unpredictable.

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BrahMos Cruise Missile To Be Inducted In Indian Air Force in 2012.

The BrahMos Supersonic cruise missile will be inducted into the Air Force in 2012, a top Defence Research and Development Organisation official said.

The missile has already been inducted into the army and navy, BrahMos Aerospace Managing Director and Chief Controller, DRDO, A Sivathanu Pillai, told reporters at Chunkankadai, near here.

The BrahMos missile, a joint venture of India and Russia, is the first such in the world, he claimed.

 

Research is on to develop missiles, using nanotechnology, with stealth properties, which cannot be identified by enemy radars, he added

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Russian Indian BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

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Indian Army Test Firing OF BrahMos Block-III Supersonic Cruise Missile Successful

The Indian Army today successfully conducted the user trial of BrahMos Block-III supersonic cruise missiles that has the ability to engage inaccessible targets inside hillocks.

The test was carried out at a firing range here around 1100 hours and met all the mission parameters, sources told PTI here.

The Block III version has the capability of scaling mountainous terrain and can take a steep dive to engage targets located inside hillocks which are otherwise inaccessible.

This was the 25th test of the cruise missile which has already been inducted in the Army and Navy.Army has plans to induct the missile for mountain warfare. 

The missile has the capability to engage ground targets from a very low altitude with minimum radar signature and is considered best for surgical operations.

Considered one of the fastest cruise missiles in the world, BrahMos can gain a speed of Mach 2.8. It has a two-stage propulsion system, with a solid-propellant rocket for initial acceleration and a liquid-fueled ramjet responsible for sustained supersonic cruise.

Jointly developed by India and Russia, BrahMos is a stealth supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.

The submarine and air launch version of the missile are under different stages of development and are scheduled for test-firing in next couple of years.

The fire-and-forget missiles are stored, transported and launched from special mobile launchers and can be launched in both vertical and horizontal modes. 

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/user-trial-of-brahmos-block-iii-missile-successful/articleshow/9578740.cms

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