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Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 22
In a significant milestone, the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, was mated and test-fired from a Sukhoi 30-MKI fighter jet today, completing the triad or the ability to launch the missile from land, sea and air.
The BrahMos was fired for the first time from an Indian Air Force’s Su-30MKI fighter aircraft against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal. “It hit the bull eyes,” said IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee. The IAF is the first air force in the world to have successfully fired an air-launched 2.8 mach surface attack missile of this category, he added.
With a range of 400 km, BrahMos can be fired by pilots flying over the Indian territory to target enemies at sea or land. An aircraft like the Su-30MKI, which has the ability to fly at 2 mach, can be deadly paired with the missile. The missile can be fired at day or night and in all weather conditions.
The missile was dropped from under the Sukhoi’s fuselage and its two-stage engine then fired up, propelling it towards the target at supersonic speeds. The missile is propelled first by a solid propellant booster engine that takes it to supersonic speeds. After it separates, the missile is accelerated further to 2.8 mach in the cruise phase with a liquid ramjet.
The BrahMos Air launched missile is a miniaturised version of the BrahMos and weighs 2.5 tonne — the heaviest weapon to be deployed on Su-30MKI to date. The aircraft was especially modified by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for giving it the missile-carrying capability.
The integration on the aircraft was very complex and involved mechanical, electrical and software modifications on the aircraft. The IAF was involved in the activity from its inception.
The software development of the aircraft was undertaken by the IAF engineers, while the HAL carried out mechanical and electrical modifications on the aircraft. The missile was fired by the test crew comprising Wg Cdr Prashant Nair and Wg Cdr KP Kiran Kumar.
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